1000 Suns
by argentorum
Summary: After escaping Tagaki manor the group flees from one shaky situation to the next. Can they put up with the loss of everything they hold dear? Or will this insane new world consume them body and soul? The survivors must find a way to live in a dead world, and each step along the way will be painful and difficult. Parings TakashixSaeko
1. Children of the DEAD

Re-upoloaded chapters 1 and 7. With chapter 7 it was just a few error corrections that I didn't catch first time around. Chapter 1 I completely edidted, if you've already read it I haven't changed the overall content much. But now it's much better (in my opinion at least) found some areas that didn't really flow and revamped them.

Chapter eight is in the works, but, as I took a hiatus from this story, it'll be a bit until I get back into it.

**1000 Suns**

**Chapter 1  
>Children of The DEAD<strong>

_It was a while before I realized exactly what we were. At first I thought we were the survivors, the last hope of a dying world, the phoenix that would be reborn from the ashes of what once was. But the remnants of that world were consumed at the Takagi Mansion, and when nothing rose in that world's place, my answer lost its standing with reality.  
>It was only then, speeding down the road away from the last great gasp of civilization, that I realized it.<br>We are the Children of this world, the Children of the Dead._

**X**

"Sunset is coming,"

It was a simple statement of fact, an innocuous declaration of the time of day, yet it was laced with fear.

The night was _their_ time.

Komuro nodded once towards Rei, and she sighed in relief, sending him a grateful wince that, once upon a time, might have been called a smile. Now that Komuro knew, something would be done about it, now that Komuro was working on it, everything would be fine. It was the unspoken mantra of their group, and Komuro knew it as well as anyone else. Crouching down so that he was inside the Humvee, he turned to Marikawa-sensei. "Take the next left," He instructed as they sped away from the flames and burning buildings that, only a scant hour before, composed the ancestral home of the Takagi clan. Without anyone to fight the fire, it spread unfettered through the dead city, lighting it up once more.

As Marikawa-sensei turned the Humvee down the street that Komuro indicated, she saw a horde of _them _blocking the road ahead. She eased her foot of the gas pedal, letting the Humvee roll quietly to a stop next to a burnt out school bus. "What should I do?" she asked Komuro. His brow creased, another question, another responsibility.

Komuro clenched his teeth, for a moment he was about to tell her to take a detour, take the next left further down the road and then loop around to their destination. But that would take time, and daylight was fading fast. _You know what, _he thought _Screw it._ He'd had enough of _them_. Had enough of tiptoeing around the once-humans which lined the streets of his home. His hand curled into a fist on the dashboard.

"Run them into the ground," He growled out.

She nodded sharply, flooring the gas pedal. "Everyone hang on tight," Komuro whispered. Tires screeched as the Humvee tore down the street. It's engine roared like thunder and the armored fender hit _them _like a sledge hammer, crushing _them_ beneath its heavy tires with relish. For a brief second, the humvee was completely surrounded by corpses before they burst through the crowd, tires squealing as they sped down the road towards God knows where.

But that was a problem for tomorrow. Tonight the only thing Komuro had to do was get his family to safety. Pointing to a hotel sign that appeared a mile or so down the road he said, "Pull into that parking lot up there." Tomorrow would just have to wait.

"Wow," A sarcastic voice came from behind him, "You actually came up with a good idea," Turning around he saw Saya looking at him. Her face was composed, gaze sharp as ever, yet she seemed fragile, like she might crack under the slightest pressure.

Hearing her talking again, he couldn't help a small smile of relief from crossing his face, "I did my best while our resident genius was taking a break," He replied gently.

A wane smile flickered across Saya's face, and just like that everyone in the car relaxed. A small modicum of happiness spread around the vehicle. Even Saeko, who usually only gave smiles to Komuro, allowed a small smirk to illuminate her face.

Rei jumped down through the hole in the roof. She landed next to Komuro as Shizuka pulled the Humvee into the parking lot. "We made it," She said softly, wrapping her arms around him. Slightly surprised, Komuro hesitated only a second before returning Rei's embrace.

"Yeah," He rumbled, "_We_ made it," His voice was equal parts relief and sadness as he remembered the ones left behind. He could only hope that Saya's father could lead his host of refugees to safety.

But all the same, they were still alive, by the grace of God they had survived another day.

Disentangling himself from Rei, Komuro took a breath, time to get going. "Okay everyone," He said, "We're going in. Saeko takes point, Rei and I on the sides, Hirano brings up the rear, and everyone else in the middle same as always."

"What about our supplies?" Hirano asked.

"We're taking everything with us," Komuro replied, "Marikawa-sensei, take the keys to the Humvee, kudasai." Every pilled out of the Humvee as quickly and quietly as possible, grabbing their packs of supplies as they went.

The parking lot was silent as a grave, empty save for a few of _them _that wandered aimlessly around the fringes. Quickly crossing the cracked pavement, Saeko and Takashi grabbed the two front doors and yanked them open for everyone to pass through. Once Hirano was inside they closed the doors gently as Rei, Hirano, and Saya, holding her newly acquired Luger, surveyed the entrance hall.

"Anything we can use to barricade the door?" Komuro asked softly, still facing the outside. After a quick visual sweep of the entrance hall Hirano shook his head.

"Nope," He replied, "This is a pretty standard hotel, nothing but the front desk and the gift shop. Our best bet is to just get to a higher floor and use some furniture to block of the stairs."1

Komuro nodded. Living in this neighborhood he'd been past this hotel many times before. Calling the layout to mind he ran over their options, suddenly a small smile appeared on his face. "Hey Saya, think you can get us the keys to the fancy suites on the top floor?"

She smiled as well, instantly picking up on his plan. "Of course, I'm a genius," she replied haughtily as she crossed to the front desk.

"Saeko, Rei," Komuro began, "Check the stairs, make sure none of _them_ are hanging around." A few moments after they disappeared up the stairwell Saya returned with four keys.

"You wanted the keys to all of them right." She said. Komuro nodded.

"Let's go," he said. Without another word the rest of them continued up the stairs. Two flights up they encountered the first body, draped across the railing face down. They gave it a wide birth, Shizuka turning Alice's head away from it as they passed. Even without examining the body Komuro knew it was Saeko's handiwork, and he continued upward the stairs slightly faster than before, hoping she could keep control of herself.

Luckily, the rest of the stairs were clear, and they arrived on the top floor without incident where they met up with Rei and Saeko. The entire group assembled in the center of the hall as Saya gave the room keys to Komuro. "We have four rooms that take up this entire floor" He said, "The two each side of the hallway are connected to each other. So who wants what?"

Saya spoke immediately, "I want that one," pointing towards the south east suite, the only one that wouldn't have a view of her mansion, or what was left of it anyway. Takashi nodded, wordlessly giving her the key.

"Alice and I will stick with you." Shizuka added happily.

Komuro half expected a sarcastic remark on Saya's part, but the only response she gave was a quiet "Thank you." As the three of them entered Saya's suite she turned towards Khota, "Hirano," She said quietly, "Can you take the suite adjoining mine?" Khota, flabbergasted, could only nod disjointedly, a blush coloring his cheeks. Komuro tried in vain to suppress a smile as he handed Khota the room key. A second later the door thudded behind him, leaving Saeko, Rei, and Komuro standing alone in the hall.

Alone for the first time, an air of unease settled over the three of them. Komuro scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, and the other two looked almost as tense as he felt. Not wanting to make the situation any more uncomfortable, he silently held out the last two keys. Grabbing hold of his action like a life line Rei stepped forward, swiping one at random. "Come on Busujima-sempai, we'll share a room." At her words all three of them relaxed, tension evaporating. Both Saeko and Rei favored Komuro with one last smile before disappearing into their suite.

He looked down at the last key and realized that it was the one for the North West suite. _Shit_. Thinking of nothing he could do to avoid his fate, he opened the door to his suite, the suite with a perfectly unobstructed view of Takagi Manor.

* * *

><p>The shades had been wide open, revealing a wall made entirely of glass. The suite had been designed to flaunt its spectacular view of the city. And one must admit that the view beyond was <em>spectacular<em>. Komuro, entranced by what lay beyond the glass, had approached the wall slowly. Now his hand rested lightly on the thin pane. It was cold to the touch, something that seemed impossible considering the sight before him.

On the other side of the window, less than a mile away, the city burned.

Great tongues of flame swathed the entire neighborhood where Saya's house had once stood. After consuming the mansion, the fire had spread with insatiable hunger from building to building until more than three square miles were caught in the blaze. With nothing to keep the fire in check, it had consumed a whole district. Only the wide streets and rivers that separated her community from the rest of the city saved them from the funeral pyre.

So bright it hurt the eyes to look at directly, the burning neighborhoods and buildings did not look like part of a city any more. They were all but submerged in the fire, nearly invisible. Wreathed in flames reaching twenty feet tall and dancing like demons, it appeared as a piece of hell, the capital of the necropolis that used to be their home.

And in the center of it all, atop a hill once covered with vibrant grass and dotted with a rainbow of flowers, sat the blackened remains of Takagi Manor. The fire had long since consumed that part of the city, leaving behind only scorched concrete and ash covered ruins. Even the stonework had crumbled beneath the intense heat.

Like the Phoenix, the world was burning to the ground so it could be reborn. Perhaps this time, whatever took the place of humanity would learn from their predecessors mistakes. Because, seeing the fire before him, Komuro knew that _humanity_ as it once was would not rise from the ashes. Whatever emerged from this fire would be changed. Komuro couldn't help but wonder if he and his hadn't already been irrevocable warped. With no answer, all Komuro could do was watch a third of the city was cleansed with fire.

A light nock on the door broke Komuro out his trance. With a quick jerk, he yanked the wide curtains shut and, using a plastic cigarette lighter that he snagged from downstairs, he lit a few of the candles that sat around his room before opening the door.

On the other side stood Hirano. He eyed the minimal furniture in Komuro's room, namely a two beds, a large leather chair, a desk (which was part of the wall) and a mini-fridge. "Not much here either," He noted, Komuro nodded glad for the distraction from his morbid thoughts. Komuro nodded, remember their earlier conversation.

"Guess we won't be barricading the stairs then, huh"

Khota shrugged, "It's not really worth it, is it? The doors are already pretty thick to begin with. Nothing we could pile up on the other side would really affect how hard it is to force the door open." He said. "Besides, all the beds are bolted to the floor."

"Everyone seems too tired to work right now anyway." Komuro replied, "Here," he said grabbing one side of his desk chair, "We'll wedge this underneath the handle of the stairwell door. It's about all we can do in this situation." Khota nodded. Together they moved the chair out of the room and shoved it underneath the door handle to stop it from turning.

At the far end of the hall from Saya's room Komuro asked in a low voice, "How's Saya holding up?"

Khota replied in kind. "She's dealing. And Shizuka-sensei is really helping her cope. I think she'll make it through." Komuro sighed.

"Good." He said. "We'll have a meeting her suite tomorrow to discuss our next move,"

"Why her suite?" Khota asked. Takashi gave a pointed glance towards the North West corner of the building. "Oh," Khota paused for a second, "were the shades open?" Takashi nodded wordlessly. Khota put his hand on the other man's shoulder, "How are _you_ holding up?" he asked.

"I'll live," was Komuro's reply, then the two of them went back to their respective suites. Sitting down on his bed Komuro could only stare at the drawn shades of his room, unable to forget what lay beyond. But right before the door to his suite swung shut a hand reached out and caught the heavy wood.

Komuro's head snapped up as a voice greeted him. "Komuro-kun," Saeko asked, "May we come in?"

Komuro looked at the door in utter surprise "We?" He asked not sure what to make of it.

"Yeah, 'we' as in us" Rei replied snarkily.

Komuro chuckled, "Sure thing," At this Saeko pushed open the door.

"How are you Komuro-kun?" she asked, somewhat suggestively, as she and Rei walked into the room. A slight brush colored his cheeks at her remark, but he quickly suppressed it. He gave them an amused smile in return.

As the door swung shut, Rei eyed the closed curtains with annoyance. Candle lit hotel rooms would be good for setting the mood if she and Takashi were alone. But for the three of them together- Rei suppressed a slight shutter. "Come on Takashi, open the curtains," She called playfully as she grabbed them. "Let in the moon light."

"Rei wait!" Takashi started, but too late. Unheeding, Rei threw the curtains wide. "What the-" She gasped out as the light of the fire spilled into suite.

Saeko flew to the window, eyes wide, "Impossible," She whispered, pressing her hands to the glass. The two of them stared, unbelieving, at the place they had just fled from, now reduced to a blacked ruin like something from the epicenter of a nuclear detonation.

Sighing sadly, Komuro crossed the room to stand behind them. "Pretty terrible isn't it," Neither of them responded, unable to wrench their eyes away. He put an arm around each of them, drawing the girls into a tight embrace. The two of them turned and clung to him, eyes still locked on the burning city, like they were drowning and he was their lifeline. Komuro should know, he felt exactly the same way. Together, the three children of the dead watched, enraptured by the dancing flame that claimed the center of the city as its own.

**X**

_The flames taught me something, or perhaps watching them simple reminded me of what I already knew. It was a sight to behold, the fire dancing across the city that had once been my own, a sight more beautiful and terrifying than words can describe.  
>As the three of us stood there, clinging desperately to one another while we witnessed the death of our world, I remembered something very important.<em>

**High School of the Dead  
>Children of the Dead<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>1)<strong>When Komura asks if there's anything they can use to barricade the front door of the hotel- Modest Japanese hotels don't have a bunch of furniture in the foyer like western hotels do. Like I said in the text, the front rooms are pretty much empty except for the check in desk and a gift shop. The overall size of these foyers (in my limited experience with Japanese hotels) is about the size of your average family room.


	2. Footsteps of the DEAD

Edited, These early chapters were so rough, :/

* * *

><p><strong>1000 Suns<strong>

**Chapter 2  
>Footsteps of the DEAD<strong>

_What does it take to be a good leader? If someone had asked me that question before this whole mess started I would have looked at them like they were crazy. I would have laughed in their face and said 'who cares'.  
>I didn't care about much back then. Ironic isn't it, that I never knew how lucky I was until everything was already gone.<em>

҉

The entire group gathered in Saya's suite an hour or so after sunrise. The diminutive genius regaled Komuro with a small frown as he entered her room, as if to say 'what are all of you doing here?' He just smiled apologetically for interrupting her rest, but planning their next move took precedence over a day of relaxation. Moments of safety and relative peace, when Komuro and company were far away from _them_, occurred rarely in the hectic and chaotic world. These moments needed to be used to plan for the future, how to survive, how to find food, how to get from point A to point B, as many things a humanly possible.

And they all had to meet in Saya's room because she didn't want to move.

"Khota, how are we doing with ammo?" Takashi asked as soon as everyone was settle around the suite.

Hirano shrugged and replied, "We still have more than enough, though if we get into another major conflict that'll change. The only one who's even close to running low on ammo is Saya, since she only had one barrel clip to begin with. Shizuka's friend must have been planning for a war or something with all the rounds she had in her appartment."

Komuro nodded as he leaned back against a wall. "Well," He began. "We barely have any food or water, since we weren't planning on leaving on such short notice. So we have to go looting for supplies before we can do anything else. No point in going off half starved. That's the first thing we'll do today" Around him others nodded in agreement. "Next, Saya, do you know what effect the" He paused for a moment to recover the word, "'HANE' could have on us?"

Pushing up her glasses Saya mentally sorted through all the information she knew on the subject and framed a reply, "Other than what I've already told you, all electronic devices shorting out, the other effects depend on where the bomb was detonated, which will also affect the range of he blackout."

"For example, there will quite possible be radioactive fallout, albeit much less than would be present if a nuclear warhead was detonated on the ground. But unless Shizuka-sensei has anti-rad pills in that bag of hers, there isn't anything we can do to protect ourselves from it." tilting her head to the side she continued, "Of course, considering the fact that we only experienced the effects of the blast and no one actually saw the explosion itself, the H.A.N.E. probable took place some distance away, either over the ocean or another one of the islands. So if the winds blow the right way we might never see any fallout at all, and hopfully if we do it won't be enough to harm us." She grimaced, "One way or another we probably won't know until it's too late" Takashi frowned, he had been hoping for better news than this, but Saya wasn't finished yet. "Next is the problem of water." She continued, "If the EMP blast hit the water treatment plants then we're royally screwed as the water in the pipes may not be potable. Also, unless there are still workers at the facilities the water pressure will fail in a few days regardless, and there isn't exactly an abundance of alternative water sources around here."

"What about the river?" Saeko asked, "Is their some reason why it would become unusable?"

"We'll sure we can use the river," Saya shot back "if you don't mind setting up right next to it and spending the better part of everyday carrying water back to our hideout. Not to mention that we'd have to boil it so we don't die of cholera or some other ironically fatal disease, and if the water has been contaminated by _them_ we have no idea if just _boiling _the water will purify it. Though it would be morbidly amusing to die from water of all things."

Saeko nodded, unperturbed by Saya's tone; However, it was Komuro who picked up the questioning again, "If your right," He began, "And the water supply fails, what do you propose we do?"

"If things get that far," Saya replied, "We'll have no choice but to search for another usable water source, either a river or a lake of some sort. It would be best if we could find a water supply far enough away from major cities to avoid detection, but it would still need to be close enough so we could scavenge food." She didn't want to lay down this last piece of bad news after everything else she had just said, but it was necessary. "And, as it stands right now, I have no idea where the H.A.N.E. originated from..."

"So if we do decide to move out, we have no idea which direction will take us out of the EMP's radius." Komuro finished. Saya simply nodded, confirming his statement.

"Right," Komuro continued. There was nothing left to do but come up with a plan of action. "I live in this neighborhood, so first I'll lead a group to loot some of the smaller food stores. With the lights out, I don't want go into a supermarket unless we have no other options. Rei, your father worked at the East Police Station, right?" Rei nodded, her face part hopeful, part scared, "That's close by, so we'll head in that direction while we're scavenging food and water. With any luck, we can find your dad sometime during the trip. We'll need some of the backpacks to carry everything too."

He slapped his hands on his jeans. "Right, Anything else?" He asked. No one else spoke. "Alright then. Let's get to it before we run out of daylight." Zeke gave a happy little bark, the only one unaffected by the dark tidings that welcomed them this morning.

* * *

><p>҉The parking lot was empty, devoid of anything that resembled life, and a small plastic bag skittered across the asphalt as Komuro and company opened the hotel doors. They had decided to leave the humvee in the lot and travel on foot in order to avoid attracting too many of <em>them<em>. Meanwhile, Shizuka, Alice, Zeke remained inside the hotel. Komuro had debated leaving Hirano or even Saya behind to protect them, but in the end he decided the thick wooden doors would be enough to keep them safe.

The five of them (Saeko, Takashi, Rei, Saya, and Khota) moved out in formation. Their footsteps made only a small amount of noise, but even the light tapping seemed comically loud next to the silence around them. One could only hope that distance would be a buffer for the sounds and prevent _them _ from hearing. Takashi and Co. moved slowly out onto the empty streets, their eyes sharp, their ears straining to pick up even the barest into of movement. And each of them hoping that, just for once in their lives, today would come off without a hitch, that the whole trip would end well.

Their wish would go unfulfilled.

Saeko in the lead, they picked a road heading towards the police station. They crossed back and forth over the street to dodge around cars and to avoid the shambling forms that stumbled about with no goal or orientation save moving towards the newest sound. They made quick progress down the street despite their constant detours, soon arriving at a small grocery store, their first stop on the way to the police station. After a quick sweep of the small store, Saeko concluded it was empty and the rest of the group filed inside.

Komuro stood by the door, looking over the bloodstained tiles within. A lone body, its head bashed in, occupied one of the small isles, toward the front several of the shelves had been tipped over and the glass store front had been smashed in, the shattered piece crunching as he walked. A dark mood settled over him as he looked about the trashed interior.

Takashi had know the owners of the shop, and had stopped by often enough to become friendly with all of the clerks who had once stood behind the tiny checkout counter in the corner. It had been a mom and pop shop, with two kids just older than him working there. One was a child of the family, the other just a nice guy who needed some work. By the looks of it, the nice guy was the one lying on the ground, poor bastard.

This store was inextricably tied with Takashi's past; indeed, it had been leaving from this store when he glimpsed walking home from school together. They had been standing on the other side of the train crossing, oblivious to him standing less than ten yards away. They'd crossed the now silent railroad tracks to get to the store not a minute ago, but he hadn't remembered until he stood in the front of 'Sūpāmāketto'. _Such a stupid name_ Komuro reminisced. He remembered trying to get the owners to change the name to something more sensible several times. And now it didn't even matter, the neon sign lay in a burnt out heap of scrap right next to the door.

Takashi's hand clenched, his nails cutting into his palm as he fell deeper into the host of memories surrounding this place, the glittering fragments of a life that will never be again.

A soft hand lightly touched his cheek and Komuro jumped, bringing his shotgun halfway up before he saw who it was. Saeko stood before him wearing a worried expression, the tips of her fingers lightly touching his face. He stumbled slightly, shoulders slumping for a brief instant, before he regained control of himself. Then he flashed her a winning smile, one that made Saeko's heart skip a beat even though she knew it's fake. His eyes were so beautiful when he smiled. "I'm fine," He replied to her unspoken question and gently pushed her hand away. Without another word he moved into the store and struck up a conversation with Khota, nobody but her noticing his slight lapse.

Saeko sighed, a concerned expression on her face. _What was that?_ she mused to herself as she moved back to the shelves, pretending to look for more nonperishable food. _For a moment there, I felt pure, uncontrollable hatred rolling off of him._ Glancing back towards Takashi she pondered the expression on his face, now only full of determination and wry humor, so different from only a moment ago.

"See something interesting?" Rei asked snarkily as she walked up, grabbing a few more cans of this and that off the shelves.

"I'm concerned for his health," Saeko replied. She tossed Rei a can that the other girl missed before sweeping past her to hold open the door as the entire group returned the street to sort out what they'd gathered. Rei spared Saeko a brief nod, showing the other woman that she, too, was concerned for Takashi. Now though, the tawny eyed teen was fine, and he gestured for his family closer so he could speak.

"We found a lot," He whispered, eliciting a sarcastic snort from Saya, "But there's one more place I want to raid before we head for the police station." Nods of understanding all around, "Let's get all of this into our packs quickly. I don't want to stay in one spot any longer than we have to." Everyone complied, and within a minute they were moving again, falling in step next to each other like they'd been doing it their entire lives. The next place they were heading towards was a small gas station that Komuro knew would have lots of snacks filled with preservatives. After all the shit his family had been through, he felt that some sugar filled junk food would help keep everyone's spirits up.

It's amazing how quickly humans adapt to their new surroundings. Even this, creeping silently down the street and avoiding walking corpses as they went, had become part of a routine. It was something rote, practiced, because humans find comfort in repetition. And ultimately, it is that laxness, that need to reduce the world to a series of patterns, that crushes humanity every single time.

Because when something happens that upsets the pattern, humanity doesn't know how to react.

**The Gas Station**

Ever seen a man hanged? Saya was staring at one right now as it dangled limply from the ceiling of the convenience store like a filthy rag. The worst part of it all, Saya decided, more awefull than the pallid skin, more terrible the sickly sweet smell of decay filling the air, more horrible than the bloodshot eyes poping out of its skull, was the expression on the corpse's face.

The face (frozen by rigor mortis, the part of her brain that still in shock noted vaguely) bore an insane grin. Stretching from ear to ear, it was a visage of joy, of the sweet release from this nightmare of a world. It stared at her, its rotting eyes peering inter hers, and Saya began to tremble. She wanted to turn away, to flee to run to hid, to put a bullet into her own _mouth_ if that's what it took to escape the dead man's gaze.

The gleeful specter of demise, suicide his savior, seemed to smile benignly at Saya, beckoning her closer into the depths of insanity, drawing her to the edge past which she could never return. Saya wished that she had even enough control of her body to close her eyelids, to look away, to stop _seeing_ was all she asked for. But removing the grotesquery from her sight will not save her from its demented smile. No, that will linger for the rest of her days. Even a glimpse would have done the job, saving forever the dead man's grin in her psyche against all attempts to purge it. She would remember forever, that was her reality.

"We're leaving," Komuro spoke, his voice broken, the sound of one on the verge of abandoning all hope. Yet even his words could not awaken Saya from her trance, so enraptured was she by the face before her, a face so utterly _happy_. In the end it was Khota, grabbing her gently by the shoulders and steering her out of the store that saved her. Collapsing, as if unable to bare her own weight, Saya slumped into Hirano, her eyes still wide open. No one paused to grab anything off the shelves, Rei barely made it to the front door before throwing up. Komuro went to comfort her and Hirano set Saya down before he began to absently click the magazine in and out of his rifle. Saeko, the last to leave the store, severed the man's makeshift noose, letting the corpse fall to the floor with a wet _smack_.

Outside the store Saya continued to tremble slightly. She focused on the clicking of Hirano's gun, _click-click_, in-out,_ click-click. _A meaningless repetitive noise, she allowed the sound to wash over her, to anchor her, and she managed to draw herself together, standing upright just as Rei's heaves quieted.

No one spoke, Komuro knew vaguely that he should say something, anything, to draw his family back together again, to give them enough strength to get back to the hotel. But he was out of words to say, so he did the only thing he could think of. He started walking. In this way, they made for the hotel, nobody had the stomach to explore the police station.

Even though she knew where they were going Rei did not argue. She had resolved to search the station for her father no matter what when they left the hotel this morning, but now that resolve was shattered into a million pieces. Quietly she fell into step beside Komuro, glad in the end that he had decided to head back to the hotel. That way she wouldn't feel like a coward for running away. She would find her father, she had to, but not today.

**Saya's Suite**

The door opened silently, only a click betraying the turning of the lock in its hinges, as Saya and the rest of the group damn near collapsed through the entry way. The door slammed shut behind them, no one, not even Saeko, thinking to grab it to prevent the noise. Shizuka Marikawa took one look at them an immediately knew something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

As the group entered Alice jumped up running towards them to jump into Komuro's arms. "Onii-san!" she chirped happily. Without a word Komuro swept her up into an embrace, spinning her around in the air before collapsing back to the ground. Shizuka noted how he clung to her, like a drowning man clinging to a life preserver, before releasing her so the little girl could go hug the others. Something had happened that left them all shaken, Shizuka could see it written on their faces. They didn't even look scared, or sad. No, they appeared broken, shattered.

Saya was the worst. While the rest of them where still holding onto their facades and fake smiles, she was just standing there, leaning on Khota with a despondent expression on her face. Shizuka stood up. Walking over to the pick haired girl, the nurse enveloped her into an embrace and Saya slid unresponsively into Shizuka's grip. "What happened?" Shizuka asked Komuro quietly.

He stared at her for a second, with Alice sitting happily on his shoulder, before he managed to pull together a reply. "We found a man... who had hanged himself..." He trailed off, not sure how to finish his sentence.

Shizuka nodded. "Come on Takagi-san, let's go," She said, gently steering Saya through the door way to the adjoining suite. As the door shut behind her the rest of the group spread out around the room, lying down on beds or chairs. Rei began sorting out all the supplies they managed to gather as way to distract herself from the fiasco at the convenience store. Slowly she began sorting out the cans into piles of different foods. As she worked Komuro knelt beside her and slowly began helping. They shared a small smile, completing a meaningless task just to alleviate the feeling of depression in the air. In the background Saeko let a small frown touch her lips for an instant before suppressing her anger. It would not do for a Busujima to act so distastefully, she though, even if Komuro was the love of her life. She was confident in her position, but unbeknownst to her, so was Rei.

In the adjoining suite, Shizuka moved Saya to the large leather desk chair sitting in the corner of the room. The pinkett didn't resist, her body obeying docilely. After she sat Saya down Shizuka settled in across from her on the nearest bed. Leaning forward to close the short distance between the bed in the chair Shizuka put her hands on Saya's shoulders.

"Saya," She began, her voice quiet and gentle, "Saya, do you want to tell me what happened?" At first Saya didn't react and continued to stare off into space. But Marikawa patiently sat there, occasionally asking Saya another question. Eventually her strategy worked. Light came back to Saya's eyes and she turned towards the nurse. She blinked slowly, before collapsing into Marikawa-sensei's arms, tears that she could not find at the convenience store now spilling over in excess.

Through her sobs Shizuka, could make out words. Saya was mumbling incoherently as she wept. Eventually, the disjointed syllables became clear. "I can't forget it, I can't forget it, I can't forget it," Four words, repeated over and over again in an endless stream. A plea to forget, a testament to memory.

_That was the first time I didn't know what to say. Every time before that I'd have a word, a phrase, anything, to prop us all up until we could pull ourselves back together. But this time? nothing. I couldn't do it, it was all I could do to stand up myself and head back to the hotel. All the way, I prayed that my family would have the strength to carry themselves back. I could barely hold myself upright, let alone anyone else.  
>But the memory that man's face haunted me every step of the way. Now, I can only hope we don't follow in his footsteps.<em>

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><p>Well that's it, I mostly tried to improve the flow of the paragraphs. But there was such a huge formatting error at the end. Now I have to go back and check my other updates too, ha.<p>

In any case, don't forget to read an review :D


	3. Searching for the DEAD

****Yeah, To death with short chapters. More than five thousand words, I feel vaguely accomplished :)  
>Not much to say this time, I'm just happy that I've gotten this chapter up, Please review.<p>

And so,

* * *

><p><strong>1000 Suns<strong>

**Chapter 3  
>Searching for the DEAD<strong>

_When morning came all I wanted was to pull the covers over my head like a little kid. I wanted to go back to sleep and dream of going to school and forget this world even existed. In the end I dragged myself back into the nightmare because my family needed me. Because they always needed me._

* * *

><p>Komuro sat on the edge of his bed, alone in his empty suite. The sheets of the bed were twisted and tangled from a night spent tossing and turning in the grips of one nightmare or another. It was dark in his room, curtains drawn and lights, of course, broken. His eyes, half lidded, stared at the curtains that covered the glass wall. Vaguely entertaining the idea of opening them. But while the sun may lay beyond the fabric it also concealed the burnt shell of the city. Yeah, the curtains were staying closed. He would rather put up with the darkness. Komuro knew the darkness very well, like an old friend. But beyond that thin red curtain lay death, and he had no intention of looking upon it.<p>

His gaze drifted down to his hand. Thumb rubbing across the tip of his index finger Komuro felt a small, rough callus forming on the pad. _Huh, never thought I would have the chance to get gun calluses_. Suddenly he stood, stretching his arms as he rose. Grabbing the scuffed up leather jacket he had found at Saya's mansion he shrugged it on over his red T. Sweeping up his Ithaca he pocketed the room key as he stepped out into the hall, trying to muster up the courage to face the day. It was five steps or less to any of the other doors in the hall; but at the moment he needed time to think, so he stepped out onto the southward facing balcony.

With the sun just breaking over the horizon the air retained its chill from the night before, causing Komuro to pull his jacket tighter around him as he slung his shot gun over his shoulder. Sprawling out below him was the city, or what was left of it anyway. Cars were scattered haphazardly across the streets, some crashed into lamp posts or walls. Houses stood with doors open and windows shattered. Off in the distance he could see Onbetsu bridge, vehicles piled everywhere, hastily erected barricades torn down. It lay abandoned, as did the rest of the city between it the deserted parking lot below him. Even the city's new occupants were scarce, their shambling forms scattered here and there, the rest out of sight, hidden by buildings and wreckage. Of to the right Komuro could see the east police station, their next destination. The street in front of the building was empty of _them, _for the time being anyway. It was anyone's guess how long it would stay that way. He could see no movement around the four story building. As far as he could tell the police station was as dead as the rest of the city. _Joy, _he thought to himself, _more dead bodies._ Komuro stared out over the city dejectedly, pondering their next move.

Behind him the sliding door to the balcony opened. Saya, wrapped in a blanket from one of the beds, stepped out onto the balcony beside him. "Never thought you were the type to get up with the sun," She remarked with a wan smile.

"I wasn't," Takashi replied, a similar smile crossing his face. "But it doesn't surprise me that you are," Saya shrugged, "I am what I am," She said.

"Saya," Takashi said after a short period of silence, "Do you know how many students were enrolled in our school?"

She looked at him oddly, "Why would you care about that?"

"Well," He began, rubbing the back of his head. He didn't want to look like an idiot; but this was Saya, one way or another you'd end up making a fool of yourself. Taking a breath a growing a pair he quickly outlined his idea. "Figuring that we're the only survivors from the school, and knowing that the city's population was around 4 million,"  
>"4, 338, 651," She interrupted, "Yeah well," Komuro continued, "couldn't we get a rough estimate of how many people may have survived by crunching those numbers?"<p>

Another odd look, "You know," Saya said, "Sometimes I'm not sure if your an idiot or a genius." Takashi chucked, "I am what I am," He shot back.

"I'll be right back," Saya replied vanishing back into the hotel, presumably searching for a pen and paper. Komuro returned to his contemplation of the city, attempting to string together his thoughts into a coherent whole. He was thinking deep thoughts, something he had never done before this madness began, when two slender arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a warm embrace. "Morning," A soft voice whispered in his ear.

"Saeko," He replied, a smile breaking across his features. "How could you tell?" She asked playfully, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"You smell like lilac," He replied, "Though I don't were you've been hiding your perfume," She chuckled slightly at the joke. "I wish I could say you smelled as nice," Was her reply. They both laughed a little at that. As the sun continued to rise she slid her arms under his, embracing his chest while she rested her head on his shoulder. It was peaceful, a sensation he'd not felt for a long while. He leaned into her, letting the smell of lilac engulf him. No words were spoken. Saeko didn't ask him any questions. This moment was a gift, a short time when Komuro didn't have to do anything, when he didn't have to think and plan, when he could just relax for a few seconds.

"Pardon me if I'm interrupting," Saya remarked sarcastically, as she stepped back out onto the balcony. "If you don't want me to answer your question I can just come back later . Or the two of you could just get a room and be done with it." Komuro and Saeko stepped apart, a slight blush on both their faces. Saeko lowered her eyes demurely. Smiling one last time a Komuro, she stepped back into the hotel, leaving Saya and Komuro alone on the balcony.

"So did you do the math?" He asked. Saya glared at him, contemplating flipping him off for such a stupid question. "Of course I did the math," She replied, "It took me longer to find a piece of paper that it did for me to solve the problem, it's, like, middle school level after all."

"Thank you for supplying my daily dose of confidence," Komuro replied sarcastically, turning to lean out on the balcony rail. "So what did you get?" He asked, hope coloring his voice.

"Nothing good." she replied, sighing. "figuring that us six the only survivors from a school of 1640 students, including faculty and staff, that means the overall chance of survival is less than half a percent. So in our city, using our school as the standard, 14, 751 people should have survived, out of over 4 million." She took a breath, continuing, "Our city is 11 square miles so if the survivors were spread out evenly that should factor into about 1341 people a square mile, minus the three square miles that burned two nights ago that means there should be about 10728 people left alive." She paused, "But since my parents gathered so many people to them I'd place that number under ten-thousand, possibly closer to nine-thousand five hundred. Technically, I should have included Shino's group into the calculations. But when we left the mansion I'm pretty sure I saw their bus crashed into the concrete barricade. So they're probably all dead now.

Processing all this, Komuro shrugged. "About ten-thousand people, huh?" He remarked looking over the silent city. "Sure doesn't seem like that many."

"Most of them have probably hole up like we have, or been evacuated from the city to the island air port or something like that. But truthfully, I think ten-thousand is a very hopeful estimate."

He looked at her, "Why do you think that," She glanced at him shaking her head in disbelief, "How many people in the city are kendo champions or otaku's capable of assembling a gun out of wood shop equipment?" She asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice, "How many people just happen to have keys to an apartment stocked with an abundance guns and ammunition? Face it, we got lucky." Looking over the city she added, "We got really lucky."

The sun was fully above the horizon now; and inside the hotel Komuro could hear the sounds of people waking up. Sighing, he set that information aside to go over it later. He turned and reentered the hotel; right as Rei stepped out of her apartment door, running into him and sending them both sprawling in an tangled heap upon the floor. Takashi landed on top of Rei, one knee in-between her thighs and her hand in a place he'd rather not think about. Saya stared at them in a mixture of amusement and shock, "How the mighty have fallen," She remarked to herself, before stepping over them to enter her suite. The door to Rei's suite banged shut, leaving the hallway empty.

"T-takashi" Rei stuttered, her face bright red. Jumping back to his feet Komuro pulled Rei up with his. He stepped back slightly, putting a more comfortable distance between them, "Ohayo..." He managed.

Staring at him for a second Rei giggled, raising a hand to cover her smile. "What?" He asked, slightly annoyed.

"The expression on your face!" She replied her, giggling turning into laughter, "You, you should see yourself right now!" She remarked, doubling over from laughing so hard. Komuro couldn't help himself, he started laughing too. He didn't even know what was so funny, it just felt good to laugh again. As the laughter died away Rei straightened. Rubbing her eyes she said, "You know, the old Takashi wouldn't have hesitated to take advantage of that situation," She remarked, smiling, "And the old Rei would have slapped him. Now the new Takashi helps me to my feet and says 'Ohayo'"

"What does the new Rei do?" Komuro asked, smiling as well. "This," Rei replied. Stepping forward she brushed her lips lightly against his, "As a reward for being such a good boy." She whispered. Before he could react Rei slipped into Saya's suite, leaving Takashi alone in the hall. He shook his head. As if his life wasn't confusing enough without Rei and Saeko constantly battling over him. He didn't know which way to turn; and was becoming more and more afraid that he would be castrated in his sleep.

**Saya's Suite**  
>"Why are you all in here?" Saya asked, drawing a blanket tighter around as if it would protect her from the eyes of her friends "Can't you go meet somewhere else?"<p>

"You're part of our team," Rei replied with a friendly smirk, "So since you're not moving we have no choice but to meet around you." Saya glared at her. "What, turnabouts not fair play?" Rei asked.

Saya bemoaned her bad luck getting stuck with this girl out of everyone in their school. Turning to Komuro, she said, "Might as well get this over with fearless leader. The sooner your done the sooner I can go back to sleep."

Shaking his head Komuro picked up the conversation, "We all know that the police station is our goal for today. Saya," He said turning to face the little genius, "Marikawa-sensei said you need a break, so I'm abiding by her expert opinion and giving you the day off. Hirano, I want you to stay here with the Girls. Rei, Saeko, and I will head down to the east police station. While you guys are here start packing up our stuff, I want to leave as soon as we get back."

Hearing Takashi's instructions Saya slumped in relief. Usually she would complain and gripe about being coddled but right now the last thing she wanted to do was head back out and face _them_. Now she had a chance to relax, and Khota what staying too so she would have someone to talk to other than Alice. She favored Komuro with a weary smile, letting him know she appreciated his decision. Komuro nodded, accepting her thanks as he and the two girls departed back to their suites to gather their equipment. Sighing the pink haired genius stretched back out on her bed. "Well if that's all I 'm going back to sleep," She said, rolling over so her back faced towards the other occupants of the room. Khota removed the magazine from his rifle and placed it in a corner before sitting down to play pati-cake with Alice. Thus the four remaining survivors spread out in a comfortable fashion around the room, Shizuka sorting out her medical, supplies, Zeke sitting attentively as he watched Alice and Khota clap their hand. Normalcy is hard to find in the apocalypse; in situations like these you take what you can get.

20 or so odd floors below them the other three were just exiting the hotel, armed to the teeth as they crossed the deserted parking lot again, two less in number than before. Other than that not much had changed from yesterdays excursion. Komuro lead their little party with Saeko and Rei flanking him on either side. He had his Ithaca gripped by the barrel, figuring at this point it would be better to use it as a club. The parking lot was utterly empty, the plastic bag from before long gone, taking with it all the color left in the grim world. _Ten steps to the road,_ Rei mentally checked off, taking note of each movement, _seven steps, six steps and we pass the humvee._ As they passed the empty hummer Komuro took a second to smash a zed's face in with the butt of his shotgun, letting it slide quietly down to the cracked pavement. They stepped over the corpse without pausing. It was just another body, a drop in the ocean of death that ragged around them. Such an incident was of so little consequence that they barely even took time to notice it. When death is all around you, surrounding you like a noose, you become used to it. Death becomes a normal facet of your life.

That is perhaps the most frightening thing of all; for what is life if death has no meaning?

**Back in the Suite**  
>Shizuka sighed happily, replacing all of her supplies into her "magic bag" as Saya had dubbed it. She had more than enough gauze and stitches, not that those were in much demand giving the highly infective nature of getting bitten. Other than that she still had a good supply of pain killers, minus those she had given to Rei when administering her treatment back a Saya's mansion. She was running low on her ointments but that was of little consequence, as it was highly unlikely that anyone would suffer an injury like Rei's ever again. Ever since being catapulted of the roof of the humvee Rei had become very particular about riding inside. And of course she had all of the anti biotics, anesthetics, and the like she had managed to grab before she had cut and run back in the school. <em>Thank Kami for penicillin,<em> she thought to herself, knowing that it any of the teens in her care got sick with a bacterial infection those tiny white capsules were all that stood between them and an ironic death. After all, it would kind of suck to die of Erysipelas with all the walking corpses just waiting to take a bite out of you. Sadly there was little Marikawa could do for viral infections, she could only hope that this year's flu virus wouldn't be particularly bad. Perhaps she could convince the kids to lay low for a few days if anybody caught the flu. Though with so few carriers of the disease she wondered if it would spread at all. Unless it was some variant of the bird flu and was transported by animals.

Yes, contrary to popular belief, Shizuka Marikawa was not a total air head. Her grasp of medicine was startlingly deep and complex; otherwise she still a total ditz. Hey, you can't win them all.

Looking up from her medical supplies she saw that Hirano and Alice had transitioned from pati-cake to singing 'twinkle twinkle little star; Hirano's personal version. _What did he call those again?_ Shizuka wondered for a moment, _the 'filth' version?_ She tittered to herself as she remembered, not to mention hearing the words. If Saya was awake she would be furious that Hirano was still teaching little Alice more deplorable children's songs. Though all and all, Alice was the biggest mystery to Shizuka out of the entire group. While she didn't think anyone else cared much about it; Alice's personality struck Shizuka as odd. After all the little girl had gone through Shizuka could not comprehend how she was always so happy, still so innocent despite watching her father die right in front of her. From the accounts she's heard from Hirano and Komuro his death had been gruesome. And it wasn't like the Alice didn't remember it, she had expressly cited her father's death when Khota had tried to drop her over the wire barricade at the entrance of Saya's neighborhood. So what was with this little girl? Shizuka was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, though she had never seen a horse in real life, but she was worried about the possibility of repression or some other mental disorder surfacing. _But who knows?_ Shizuka thought to herself _Maybe she just came to accept Komuro as her new father_. For know she was smiling, and in the end that was the most important thing.

"That was a great song Khota-chan!" Alice chirped, "We should teach it to Saya-chan!" Khota laughed nervously at the prospect of getting caught red handed for teaching Alice a new 'filth' song.

"Takagi-san is sleeping, Alice-chan," He replied, hoping to cover his tracks, "She wouldn't like it if you woke her up." Alice nodded happily, accepting Hirano's explanation before begging to play another round of pati-cake.

**West of Fifth Block, Onbetsu Ward***  
>Komuro, Saeko, and Rei walked down the center of the street in tight formation, making straight for the east police station. <em>They<em> shambled intermittently across the once clean, well repaired, pavement. Occasionally the group had to weave around cars that were scattered across the lanes, pausing now and then to bash another one of _Them_ in the head. Six or seven blocks from where they stood Rei could see the roof of the police station peeking out above the other houses. Despite all she had seen Rei still hoped that she would find her father alive and well at the station. She still wished that she could get her family back, as naive as it sounded that dream was all she had. And now they were almost to the police station, her dream was finally in sight.

But life is never that easy, and a few blocks later it made its contrary and unavoidable presence known. Standing between Rei and her goal it seemed as though all of _them_ that were out of sight this morning had formed a gigantic hoard surrounding the police station; grey shambling figures so close to one another they collided with the ones surrounding _them_. Here and there lone zeds staggered across the pavement, separated from the main group, only to gravitate back to the sound _they_ created as they wandered around aimlessly, running into others and collapsing, only to noisily regain their feet, a chorus of moans accompanying _them_.

Frowning at the grim sight Komuro motioned to his companions and they moved away from the mosh pit. He looked over the block for a few seconds before speaking, trusting in the sounds made by _them_ to mask his whispers. "It looks like they have the police station completely surrounded." He stated, quietly, "And there's no way we can cut through this horde. If we can't find a way in through one of the other houses on the block then we're screwed."

"But, how did they even get here!" Rei whispered, her tone lending urgency where volume could not. "This morning the streets were clear, where did _they_ come from?"

"It does not matter where _their _abhorrent corpses sprung from." Saeko interrupted, looking over the situation with a calm eye. "_They_ are here now, and unless we can find a way around them we will have to leave." Rei glared at her, but Komuro stopped the acidic comeback she was about to spew with a shake of his head.

"Rei, I'm sorry but in this case Saeko is right." She hissed back at him, "We can't just leave! Not when my father could be right there!" Komuro put his hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes before continuing. "We won't just quit. If we can't find a way through today we'll wait until all of _them_ leave and come back. And if all else fails I'll ask Shizuka to drive the humvee down to bulldoze thought _them_. One way or another I'll get you to the police station," Rei seemed to deflate at Komuro's words, regaining control of her emotions. She nodded to him, letting him know that she was fine. Taking a quick second to survey the situation once more Komuro whispered, "We'll circle around the block and see if we can find a way in. If we get that far we'll cut through the block and try to get to the station's back entrance." They moved out quietly, giving the undead horde a wide berth as the moved down a street next to the block, looking for a break that they could slip through.

To the south, in front of a small library the horde was considerably thinner. The Library, a short brick building, sat behind a five foot high wall that encircled this part of the block. A short break in the wall appeared directly in front of the front door of the library. A few yards wide, the opening was blocked by about ten of _them_. The only point on the block that was not swarmed by the undead. Komuro and company stood on the other side of the street, regarding the break in the horde surrounding the police station. "What do you to think?" Komuro asked quietly. Rei didn't reply, not removing her gaze from the small opening in the wall. Saeko turned to Takashi, nodding to show her approval of their current course of action. "Let's go then," He said shifting his grip on the barrel of his shotgun and raising it to a more ready position. To his left and right Saeko and Rei shadowed his footsteps. As they approached Saeko's katana hissed out of its sheath and Rei lifted up her rifle lunging forward to spear the first one of _them _through the head. She lowered her bayonet to let the corpse slide quietly to the ground. Saeko followed right behind with a quick slash of her sword, a small smile coming to her face. Within moments they were through the opening in the wall.

Moving swiftly as silence would allow they circled around the side of the building pausing only momentarily to take down one of _them_ that blocked their path. Passing through backyards they eventually made it to the back of the police station. Rei could see the roof over the tall brick fence that barred their way, the last obstacle between her and the back of the building.

Takashi moved next to the wall, slinging his shot gun over his shoulder. "Here," He said knitting his hands together, "I'll boost you both over the wall."

Saeko nodded, "I will go first," She said. Rei shot a quick glare at her, "Why do you get to go first?" She asked. Saeko just cocked an eyebrow at the brown haired girl, "Which one of us would be better at taking out a large amount of _them_ in the enclosed space of that ally?" She asked rhetorically before moving to stand in front of Takashi. Sheathing her sword she placed her left foot in his palms.

"Ready?" he asked. After she nodded he heaved her up, nearly throwing her upwards as the grabbed the top of the concrete fence, hoisting herself over the brick wall to land on the other side. Rei heard a swish and two thumps shortly afterward; presumably Saeko taking out a few of _them. _Rei moved forward next repeating Saeko's maneuver she moved to pull herself up to the top of the fence. But she had only just gotten her elbow onto the lip when the support of Komuro's hands disappeared. She let out a gasp, coming dangerously close to slipping as her feet scrambled for support on the brick.

That was when she heard a moan.

Turning, her muscles frozen in fear, she saw Takashi scrambling backwards as one of _them_ shambled towards him. She could only watch in horror and disbelief as the rotting corpse sunk its teeth into his arm. He cried out in pain. Grabbing its head with his other hand he turned, bashing its head into the wall with all his might. Once, twice, he smashed the thing into the wall. On the third strike it released his arm, sliding lifelessly to the ground. But the noise he had made attracted more of _them_. _They_ stumbled out of the houses and buildings about him, making _their_ way towards him.

Swearing under his breath he ran back towards Rei. Taking a running leap he grabbed the edge of the wall, mustering enough momentum to hall himself over. Reaching down he yanked Rei up behind him and the two jumped, closer to tumbled off the other side.

Saeko was before them helping Komuro and Rei back to their feet. "What happened?" She asked, her face betraying her worry.

"O-one-one of them" Rei blubbered, struggling to form the words, "One of them b-bit-"

"Rei, I'm fine," Takashi interrupted, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Look," he said, showing her his arm. "It didn't break the leather." It was true. The black material of his jacket was in worse shape than before; but the leather itself was unbroken. Rei stared at his arm for a few seconds. Taking a deep breath she managed to stop her shivering, slumping back against the wall they just hurled themselves over. "You okay?" he asked, worry creasing his brow. She nodded.

"Let's go," She replied softly, "The back entrance is around that side of the building," She pointed. Komuro pulled Rei back to her feet and they moved to go around the building, Saeko taking point.

Rei didn't know what was more disheartening. The fact that the side door was busted open; or that it was busted open from the inside. "Well at least we know why all of _them_ are here." Rei stated, trying to make light of the situation. "Busting this door of its hinges would have been pretty loud." She paused, "Well there's no point in wasting time. Might as well get this over with," She tried to smile, and failed miserably.

Saeko took point. And the other two followed her into the building. The first floor was empty, so was the second. As they arrived on the third floor they came across a man laying on the ground, his back propped up by a wall, dressed in a police uniform. He was pale, sweat covering his face and breath coming in short sharp gasps. But it was his right leg that drew they eye. Five inches below the knee a column of white jutted out from his shin, three inches of bloody, shattered bone. At the base of the wound Rei could see that his skin was red and inflamed through his ripped pants, a mixture of blood and pus seeped from the wound adding to the large puddle of filth that had formed around his leg. At first it was all Rei could do to drag her eyes away from his mortal wound. But upon seeing his face she gasped, "Yamashita-san" She whispered. He cracked an eye open when she said his name. "Rei," he replied. He let out a dry wheezing noise. It took her a moment to realize he was laughing, "Long time no see," His voice was crackling, dry. Without further ado Rei knelt beside him, uncapping her water bottle and pouring a stream of water down his chapped torn lips.

"Bless your soul Rei," He croaked, his voice marginally stronger than before. "Who are they?" He asked a slight jerk of his head indicating Saeko and Takashi who stood a respect full distance away.

"Friends," Rei replied, "Yamashita-san, what happened here?" She asked, voice fearful.

He looked over what was left of the police station, the place where he had lived and worked for the last 15 years since he turned 23. "Don't worry kid, your dad wasn't here when the shit hit the fan," He replied, answering Rei's unspoken question. "He and two others went to see if they could find any other survivors, maybe get some find some other cops or something." Yamashita took a breath, air rattling in his chest as he inhaled, "Two other officers came back from gathering supplies about an hour after your dad left. One of them was bitten, but he tried to hide it." Yamashita let out a crackling chuckle that turned into a coughing fit. "By the time we found out it was too late, He turned, started biting people, and now I'm the last one left. I fell down the stairs trying to get away from one of _them_ and broke my leg. It was all I could do to drag myself out of the stairwell and prop myself up against this wall. I've been lying here since then, trying to keep quiet so _they_ won't find me."

"When did that happen," Rei asked.

"Two, Three days ago" Yamashita replied shaking his head as if he was trying to clear it, "I've lost track of how long I've been here. They left the night the city burned." He paused, "Before you ask, I don't know where they went or when they'll come back. Your old man said something about checking police head quarters, but that place was in the burned section of the city. Sorry kid." He took a breath, steeling himself for what he had to say next as Rei rocked back on her heals, shocked by his news. "I'm done for kid." He said sadly, "There's no point in me staying alive." He stopped Rei from interrupting with a look. "The gun safe is on the second floor, the combo is 3-42-28-7. There's extra ammo and supplies on the fourth floor."

"Yamashita-san, what are you saying?" Rei asked, "We can get you out of here, we have a doctor with us, you'll be okay," She seemed to be talking more to herself, trying to convince herself that what she was saying was true.

Yamashita just chuckled, "Look at me kid. I can't even move. And I'm not deaf, I can hear all of _them_ moaning outside. I don't know how you got in, but there's no way in hell that you're getting me out." He paused, another fit of coughs seizing his body. "Just don't leave me for the zombies okay?" He asked quietly. Rei's eyes widened as she realized the implications of his plea. Rei closed her eyes, trembling as she nodded in affirmation of his request. "Thanks," Yamashita sighed, letting a wan smile lift the corners of his mouth. "There should be a few silencers in the gun safe."

**Fifteen Minutes Later**  
>They exited the block same way they entered, moving back towards the hotel. Rei's eye's were hollow as they made their way down the street. Takashi glanced at her, worried. She seemed not to notice the world around her moving robotically, in his footsteps. Killing Yamashita had broken her, and he could only hope that she could find a way to draw the pieces back together.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Our group, my family, wouldn't have survived the first day, perhaps not even the first hour, without everyone else. If not for Rei I would have gone out in a blaze of glory on the roof of the school. She may not even know it, but she saved my life. They all have. Without Saeko and Hirano we'd all be dead countless times over. Without Saya we'd have no direction; without Shizuka we'd be stranded, and have no guns to boot. And without Alice... we'd all have gone insane a long time ago. Perhaps we will anyway. <em>

**High School of the Dead  
>Searching for the DEAD<strong>

* * *

><p>About the star (*). So, in Japan streets aren't named, block are. The name them in order of age, so fifth block is the fifth oldest block in that area. Wards are just a division of the city, a municipality kind of. Beneath ward there are a few more divisions but I decided to go with ward. Also I completely bs'ed the name of the ward. But whatever.<p>

****Till Next time,  
>Argentorum<p> 


	4. DEAD Quiet

He's Alive! I know right. For those of you who have read this story, it's been far to long since my last update. I'm not gonna make any excuses. But updating should never take that long again, at least not until the end of the summer.

The unofficial poll that's been going on is now ended. Officially this story will be TakashixSaeko. Sorry all of you Rei fans. Saeko won hands down.  
>That being said now I'll have to come up with something to do with Rei. I had considered killing her off, but I think that would be in bad taste, so don't worry. She's here to stay.<p>

(Rant Start, the following contains nothing important)

You know what I hate? When authors write a romance story and then take three quarters of the whole thing to get the romance set up, have the characters finally admit their feelings for each other, and get their first kiss, only for the story to end three chapters later. That's almost as bad as actual anime for Christ's sake! Whats the point of having a pairing if the characters aren't actually paired for the majority of the story? It's just a waist of flipping Time! Get on with it!  
>I will <em><strong>NOT <strong>_be indulging in such, in my opinion at least, idiot behavior. That's not to say stories that take forever with a pairing can't be good, I just find that part of them an utter wast of the reader's and the author's time. That's why my last chapter included some forplay for both girls. Lets face it. Everyone knows that Saeko and Rei have the hots for Takashi, taking another five chapters to arrive at that forgone conclusion is not how I want to spend my time writing.  
>In other words, the pairing starts now I what I think to be a believable, in a post apocolyptic setting anyway, manner. So yeah just wanted to get that off my chest. I've been wanting to write that rant for a while<p>

(Rant End)

One last thing. I have to give credit to my best bud for writing a joke in this chapter, the only joke. You'll know it when you see it.

And so

* * *

><p><strong>1000 Suns<strong>

**DEAD Quiet**  
><em>Fighting them was awful, and running away was even worse. There were times I wondered when we would all just go bat shit crazy. When one of us would just fly off the handle and...<br>But the worst times of all? Those were the days when we did nothing ,when we stayed locked into where ever we happened to be at the moment; with nothing but our memories for entertainment. I remember seeing Hisashi's grey corpse, hearing the rapist from the gas station cry for mercy, tasting Rei's tongue brush against mine, feeling Saeko's alabaster skin beneath my hands, smelling the smoke and rot at the fire of Takagi manner. The hanging man, the broken cop, every mistake, every what if, every shattered smile and empty stare. They will remain with me for a long as I live . To this day I'm not sure how I managed to keep from drowning in it all._

**xXx**

Rei was curled up in a red chair, her face buried in Shizuka's shoulder as the Buxom nurse comforted the young woman. Rei's eyes had long since run dry, leaving them read and puffy. But still she trembled, unable to contain the horrors of the day. Saeko sat cross-legged on the floor, sword resting across her lap, eyes hidden from sight by glimmering purple bangs as she slowly ran her fingers across the lacquered sheath. Komuro sat on the edge of the bed, face resting in his palms. Of the three, he was the most still, his slow, heavy breaths, the only indication that he was alive at all.

The rest of the room was just as quiet, Saya and Alice sitting silently on the other bed. Hirano stood off to the side, gun in hand as if the rifle could ward off all the troubles in the world. Around the room several backpacks lay on the floor, filled with everything they owned. Those who had remained at the hotel had gathered their supplies together, making ready to leave as Takashi ordered, only to find that the other half of their party would return in no condition to go anywhere. Rei shattered, Saeko detached, and Komuro, their fearless leader, as dead to the world as the monsters that shambled through the streets. It had been adrenaline and will power that gave him the strength to make it back to their base. Now, safe for the moment, both sources had run dry, leaving Takashi spent, exhausted, and world weary.

Of the three Saeko was the most collected. It had been her that had informed the rest of the group about the brief expedition in hushed tones, speaking quietly so as not to agitate Rei any further. But even she was closed off. Her words were as guarded as her emotions. And no one else could tell what was going on in that head of hers; if she were angry, sad, frustrated, exhausted, or perfectly fine. She sat on the floor, deep in meditation, and utterly closed off to the outside world.

The trip to the police station now fell under the category of taboo, never to be mentioned again. Several such moments fell under that category, instances that would not be spoken of, _ever._ It had become unspoken law in their small family, and everyone knew the memories that were not to be remembered. Just as everyone shoved those memories deep down inside their psyche, burying them under lock and key.

But out of sight did not mean out of mind.

Takashi stood, his movement sudden, shattering the stifling stillness of the room, as if driven by some unquenchable resolve to _move_ and break the stupor in which he found himself. His gaze met no one, his steps jerky and uncertain as he made his way to the door. With a mumbled, '_I'll be on the balcony'_ he was gone, the thick oak thudding shut behind him. Gone too was the motivation, and silence reined for a brief second more before Saeko rose, her movements infinitely more graceful and poised then their leader's though she followed in his footsteps. When the door closed a second time no one else had the strength to break its strangling grip.

Khota watched them leave, vaguely wishing one or both of them had stayed to breathe life into their shattered comrades. He ran his fingers over the length of his rifle once more, sighing. He was a marksman, probably one of the finest shots in all of Japan. But when it came to problems like these, where he couldn't just pull a headshot and make the problem go away, he had no idea where to start.

And the silence continued to slowly suffocate them.

**The Balcony**  
>The sun still cast its light over the horizon, though its touch meant much less to Komuro these days. In some ways it was just a painful reminder that day wasn't over yet, that there were still more challenges to face. At best it could be called late afternoon. Being summer, there were still several more hours left of daylight. Those hours could be used productively, or he could simply try and survive them. Another choice, another burden.<p>

In this world there was no 'six of one half dozen of the other'. Each choice held more importance than he might ever realize. And there was no easy way out, no 'if life gives you lemons make grape juice'. You had to work with what you were given, make the best of every situation. But there was one thing Takashi was beginning to understand. Lemonade would really suck if you didn't have any sugar.

He shook his head, clearing the useless thoughts as he leaned against the balcony railing. In truth, he didn't really know why all of these pithy little aphorisms were swirling around his mind. They served no purpose, but in a way they helped him draw his thoughts together. He needed to make a choice, to stay at the hotel for another day and hope to recover. Or bury the troubles they had encountered thus far once more, and push forward.

He remembered Saya's remarks from this morning, their group was lucky, having practically every skill set they could desire. He could choose to push that luck, it might end up benefitting them in the long run. Or it might just get all of them killed faster.

Behind him the door to the balcony slid open, Saeko stepping out next to him. She rested her katana carefully against the door frame as she took her position by his side. Komuro didn't turn as she came to a stop, neither one of them acknowledged the other. Yet Saeko leaned into his arm ever so slightly, letting him know that she was there. She was there not for herself, but for him, if he needed her. It was odd how the end of the world changed people. Before she had never even spoken to Takashi. Now she was almost constantly by his side. If Saeko were true to herself, she preferred the world where she was next to him.

Takashi sagged against the railing, head drooping, tawny eyes halfway closed. "Do you need something?" He asked, voice quiet, bordering on listless.

"No," She replied calmly, "I am here in case you do." She turned her soft blue eyes to them. "Even our fearless leader needs to share his burdens occasionally." She said, a sad yet playful smile gracing her lips.

His eyes widened slightly at her remark, a dry chuckle escaping him. As the two turned to face each other she took a step closer, easily within reach, only an inch or so separating the two of them. She rested her hands lightly on his chest. "You were there for me when I needed you Komuro," She said quietly, "Allow me to do the same for you."

A lifetime's worth of emotions flashed across his tawny eyes as he took in the violet haired beauty in front of him. She could have written a book on his eyes, so expressive were they, drawing you in with tantalizing glimpses of the soul that lay beneath.

He reached out, strong arms wrapping around her, and she melted into his embrace. He buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply the scent of lilacs that filled the air around her.

"Komuro-kun," She murmured, gripping the front of his jacked with her long, slender, fingers. She pressed herself against him, leaning into the crook of his neck. He shuddered at her touch. Light as a butterfly's footstep. "Komuro-kun, I am here for you."

Her melodic voice seemed to break something inside of him. He drew back slightly, tilting her chin upwards with his left hand. "Saeko," He breathed. His eyes were like molten gold, boring into the depths of her soul with their intense heat. Their faces were close, so tantalizingly close that Saeko could feel the warmth of his breath. She knew what he was asking, what he needed. Unlike their first kiss, it was Saeko who leaned forward, pressing her lips against his as one of her hands snaked up to the back of his head, burying her fingers in his hair.

His lips were firm and they parted hers gently, allowing his tongue to slip into her mouth. It ran along the inside of her teeth, causing her to shiver. She kissed him back with equal fervor. She licked his lips massaging his tongue with her own. Somewhere along the way his hand had found its way to the small of her back, holding her close.

When at last they broke apart Saeko tugged at him gently, leading him back towards the door of the balcony, pulling him back inside the hotel as he picked up her katana. Words were unnecessary as he pulled his room key out of his pocket, opening the door silently. They slipped inside, Saeko easing the door shut behind her. Then she was in his arms again, Takashi planting butterfly kisses on her neck.

Saeko moaned lowly, showing her approval as his lips fluttered lightly across her skin. Their lips met again in a passionate kiss, tongues caressing each other, teasing with every flick. She traced her fingers along his chest, slipping them beneath the hem of his T-shirt to run across his firm abs. She smirked into his lips as he gasped at her ministrations.

Growling he pushed Saeko backwards onto the nearest bed. She pulled him down on top of her, wrapping one of her long, supple, legs around his waist. His mouth left hers, trailing kisses down her jawbone, along the alabaster skin of her neck. Komuro bit down on her, a startled gasp escaping her lips before she could rein it in. "Harder, Takashi," She whispered out, pleading for his bite. His lips found their way to her collarbone. Where's the first was a lovers bite, this was more feral as his teeth nipped at her skin, threatening to draw blood. She loved it.

Trembling, her own hands began to undo the buttons on her uniform. This was quickly spiraling out of their control, out of her control. But she found herself caring less and less as Takashi began trailing kisses down her chest, his hands reaching behind her to unclasp her bra. She allowed him, throwing the purple lace off to the side the moment he was done.

Komuro froze, eyes widening as he drank in every inch of her. "Do you like it, Komuro-kun," She asked shyly, not quite able to meet his gaze. She could practically feel his hot eyes devouring her, and she couldn't help but be afraid of disappointing him.

"Saeko," he whispered, tilting her face towards him. His golden eyes were on hers now. A soft, gentle smile flickering on his lips. His had caressed her cheek causing her to blush lightly. His eyes held something akin to worship, something that she could not comprehend until he spoke. "You're perfect," He stated, as if there could be no questioning that fact. Her breath caught in her throat. That the man above her could believe so completely in her perfection even after knowing the darkness she held within. Her eyes grew moist as she leaned up to kiss him. Allowing him to dominate her with his tongue. She drew him into her mouth, _Thank you_ she thought.

His jacket was gone, she noted. Saeko had always been a firm believer that actions spoke louder than words. She decided to show him how much his words meant to her. She yanked his shirt over his head, pulling his chest to hers roughly as she wrapped her unbelievably long legs around him.

And they knew of nothing else for a time.

**Saya's Suite**  
>A soft tap came to the thick door, accompanied by a soft ,"Someone care to let us in?" Khota crossed the room and opened the door quietly, allowing Saeko and Komuro to enter. Takashi nodded in thanks to the chubby marksman, putting a hand of his shoulder. "How are they?" He asked, his voice a whisper that carried no further than Hirano's ears.<p>

"Rei's the worst." Hirano replied in kind, "The rest of us are in pretty good shape. What's the decision?" He asked.

Takashi sighed, "I need to check on Rei first. I can't put our family in danger if one of us isn't up to it." Khota nodded, agreeing with Takashi's logic. He stepped aside, allowing Komuro and Saeko to enter the room. From where she was perched on the bed Saya noticed that Takashi's shirt was on backwards. Saeko's scarf was looser than usual, and from the looks of it the top button of her uniform was undone as well. Saya's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. But she knew that now was neither the time or place to be jealous and voice her suspicions. Their group needed Komuro. And if Rei knew that the two had done what Saya suspected then her trust in him would be shattered. That was the last thing they could afford in this new world. She would leave it to Saeko and Rei to sort out their ever more confusing love triangle.

Takashi walked slowly over to the chair Rei sat in. His childhood friend sat next to Shizuka-sensei, her head resting on the blond woman's shoulder. Her eyes were closed, breathing regular. She almost appeared to be asleep. Reaching out one hand, he rested it gently on her shoulder, "Rei," He called quietly, "How are you feeling?"

Her brown eyes opened slowly, coming to rest on Takashi with a smile, "I'm okay," She replied, sitting up straighter. Seeing his somewhat incredulous gaze she added, "Really I'm fine, I just needed to let it all out." He glanced at Shizuka, who nodded in agreement with the girl next to her. Takashi sighed in relief, one less thing he had to worry about.

Turning to face the rest of the room he said, "We're moving out. Staying here longer won't do us any good." He took a deep breath before continuing. "We'll be heading east. My house isn't far from here, hopefully we'll be able to stop there for the night."

Chances were, nobody was in his house when everything went to hell. His father was out of town (AN: At least I think that's what he said about his father, sorry if I'm wrong.) and his mother was probably still at school. A school that, like so much else in the city, had burned two nights ago. He tried his best not to think about that.

At his words everyone nodded, standing up quickly and gathering their belongings. They were all thankful for a new direction to move in, a new goal to pursue. If they had stayed there another night they might have drowned in all the past memories. Now they merely did their best to shove unwanted thoughts to the side, bury them in the action of the moment like so many times before.

Within minutes they were packed and ready, moving quickly and cautiously down the stairwell to the parking lot. It was almost routine now, moving to the humvee and loading it as efficiently as possible. Everyone but Komuro got into the vehicle, Shizuka starting it up promptly.

The noise of the engine attracted one of _them_ nearby and it shambled haphazardly towards the jeep. Catching sight of it Takashi stepped away from the humvee, brining his shotgun to a more ready grip. A hand reached out and snagged the back of his jacket. Turning around he was surprised to see Saya glaring at him over her glasses.

"You aren't going to do something stupid now are you?" She asked.

Komuro chuckled, "Relax, I'll be fine." Reluctantly she let go of him, still glaring at their baka of a leader. The zed was about ten yards from the vehicle now, and the entire group watched Takashi silently as he made his way towards it.

Alice wondered what her big brother was doing as she looked after him with wide eyes. Why was he going towards the bad thing? Those things chased her and daddy all over the city, and they scared her. Still, she knew Onii-san would never leave her. So more than anything she was curious. She watched as he slammed the butt of his gun into its neck, causing it to topple over, landing out the ground with a thud. He cocked his shotgun, aiming it at thing's head calmly. He pulled the trigger. And Hirano-oniisan's hand covered her eyes as the gun's retort sounded throughout the parking lot.

Takashi jogged back to the jeep, quickly climbing in and shutting the door behind him. He gave a weary smile to the rest of the group and Shizuka hit the gas, taking them down the road towards Takashi's home.

**Island Airport**  
>"... I see," said the severe looking man in front of her. "Rika- san, are you sure you wish to go through with this?"<p>

Rika nodded to her commanding officer. "I was in contact with them via cell phone when the H.A.N.E. went off, so they were alive at that point." She paused. "Respectfully sir, you don't need me here any longer. The several police officers that arrived with the last group will be more than enough to keep the peace, especially now that we are screening everyone who comes onto the facility."

The man in front of her sighed. "The airport had a line set up with the Takagi patriarch. We communicated several times before the lights went out" He said. "A day prior to the H.A.N.E. he informed me, on a side note, that his daughter and a group of her friends had safely reached his manor." He paused, unsure if he should continue but too committed to back out now. "One of whom matched the description of your friend, Shizuka Marikawa."

Rika tensed, eyes widening slightly, of course she knew about the fire of Takagi Manor.

"Are you sure," the man continued, "that going to look for them is still the best course of action?"

Rika took a deep breath. She knew her friend had found the guns stocked in her apartment. From the few brief minutes of conversation with Shizuka she gathered that the kids were capable. It just boiled down to if she was willing to risk her life for a friend who man not even be living. Not to mention the fact that she didn't even know where to start.

They had her humvee, which was proofed against E.M.P.'s, so they stood a decent chance of escaping the fire. But that also meant they could be anywhere in the city.

Rika looked towards the ground before straightening her shoulders and meeting her superior officer in the eye. "My earlier decision still stands sir!"

He smile ever so slightly. "Good luck Rika." He replied quietly, "And God bless."

With a salute Rika left the office, gathering her kit for a jaunt to the mainland.

**Komuro Residence**  
>It was an average looking house, the street outside empty of life, a single wrecked car crushed against the light post on the opposite sidewalk, blood stains splattered on the asphalt. No movement remained, no life, no light.<p>

"The obviously didn't have All State to protect them from mayhem like me. That's All State's stand, are you in good hands?" Mr. Mayhem's head receded beneath the fence line. (AN: sorry, I had to. *Ahem* anyway)

Inside the house bodies lay, still as tombstones, silent as graves. Two motionless forms sat huddled in a corner, another sprawled artlessly in the center of the room. Inside as out, no light, the shadows of the room concealing what might have been seen. The back door was shattered, pieces of broken glass laying on the tile floor of the kitchen within, cupboards open, drawers overturned.

The entire neighborhood was silent, even the newest denizens of the city growing quiet in the darkness of the night. Of the true night, with only the stars above to light the way as had not been for hundreds of years. The days of true darkness that had begun with the fire of Takagi manor, casting this part of the world into darkness. For those that still remained the darkness was expected now.

The silence of the night was shattered by the growl of an engine, a beam of light slicing through the darkness that swathed the road outside.

Within eyes shot open, a figure scrambling to its feet, dragging others into consciousness with a rough shake, questions that would have been asked silenced by another growl of the engine. Light cut through the window, briefly illuminating the dark room. Shuffling, hands snatching up improvised weapons, a well established routine taking place once more.

Three figures crouched by the doorway as the car outside drew in front of the house, slowing. A whispered _Are they stopping?_ drifting through the air. A terse nod and the tension in the air redoubled. Eyes peeked out over the sill as the growl of the engine was cut, lights vanishing. Thuds of car doors, the tapping of footsteps growing closer to them. Figures, less than three steps from the door, a flash of moonlight from behind distant clouds revealing the dark metallic weapons two held. _Guns._ A small figure within gasped, stepping backwards in fear. A foot came down on something fragile.

_SNAP!_

The people outside froze, eyes ducked back out of sight, glaring at the perpetrator of the noise. Alerting the ones that approached.

The three figures within readied themselves, not one of them brave enough to look back out the window. Hand tightened, muscles tensed as they waited. On the outside silence was their only answer.

Seconds dragged by. Suddenly the sound of retreating footsteps could be heard. The vehicle outside sputtered to life once more, taking off down the street, leaving the house in darkness once more.

Those within slumped, relief replacing the tension that only moments ago was thick in the air. Arms lowered, one figure peaked out the window once more. A glance revealed nothing but an empty street, devoid of life as it was before.

All three made their way towards the middle of the room, the first one to wake facing the two he had woken.

_"So that's it?"_ one of them whispered. _"They just drove away?"_ Disbelief colored the voice, wanting to be grateful for the good fortune but having survived too long to simply take it at a glance. Suspicion lingered in the air.

The first figure shrugged, _"Hopefully"_ they spoke, before turning to the smallest form. The other's posture showed unhappiness at almost giving them away, fist balled at the sides revealing anger directed inward at the foolishness. _"This time it was okay,"_ The first figure said. _"Just make sure you learn from your mistake next time,"_ A pause, followed by a short nod of understanding, eyes bright with determination not to fail again.

A shadow moved forward from the periphery of the room. Eyes widened a warning springing to the first's lips. An action that was mirrored by the one standing across from him. "Behind-!"

A sharp cold needle pricking into the back of the first one's neck stopped those words in their tracks. The figure could see fear in the eyes of the one opposite of him as the barrel of a shotgun dug roughly into the back of their head.

As one the shadows spoke, "Don't move,"

**A Few Minutes Earlier**  
>Takashi, Saeko, Rei, and Khota approached the Komuro house quickly, eyes turned outward, looking out for <em>them<em>. Behind them Saya, Shizuka, and Alice remained in the humvee, also on the lookout and ready to make a quick getaway should things take a turn for the worst.

Takashi taking point, the other three followed close behind as he made his way to the front door. Far above them, the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, giving them a brief moment of light.

_SNAP!_

The four outside froze, Takashi's eyes latching onto the window where he caught a flicker of movement before, silence. He started at his house, brow knitted as his mind rushed through all the possibilities. Suddenly he became aware of how loud their footsteps had been, not to mention the Rika's monster of a car.

When the door didn't burst open with a flood of them Takashi stepped backwards slowly, taking great care to keep his feet quiet. Drawing close to Rei, he put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in next to her ear. _"Take Hirano back to the car, drive once around the block."_ He whispered, giving short succinct instructions. _"Tell her to park it in that one hidden spot over by the fountain. When you come back the door should be open."_

He leaned back, looking Rei in the eye. She nodded once, tugging Khota on his sleeve the two walked back to the humvee, making no effort to mask their footsteps.

Takashi signaled quickly to Saeko, the two moving silently around the side of his house, reaching the backyard just as the humvee sputtered back to once more, taking off down the street. Takashi saw that gate to his backyard was unlatched, hanging open when he knew for a fact that it was close when he left for school all those days ago. Pulling Saeko closer so he could whisper he outlined his plan _"Who or whatever's inside has to be in the front room. The sliding back door leads into the kitchen. Once we get inside I'll go around to the right door to the entryway, while you wait by the kitchen door. Give me fifteen seconds, then we move in together from opposite sides. If they're alive try to get them to drop their weapons."_

Saeko nodded, but they came across a stumbling block when they reached the sliding door to the kitchen. The glass was busted inward, laying across the wood floor. If either of them accidently stepped on a piece it would crack, alerting whatever was inside.

Takashi frowned, wondering if they should just leave his home behind. But it was dark, and he was _so close_. Now he understood what Rei meant at the police station.

Saeko put a hand on his shoulder, drawing Takashi's attention. She leaned into him, placing her lips a bit closer to his ear than was strictly necessary and whispered, _"Step exactly where I do,"_ She moved to the sliding door, crouching just outside. Her eyes were trained on the floor picking out the pieces of glass they would have to avoid. Once more the moon came out from behind the clouds, its silver light falling on the wood floor of the kitchen, reflecting off the glass.

Standing again, Saeko motioned Takashi closer as she readied herself for this ordeal. Standing just outside the broken door, Takashi watched with keen eyes as Saeko slowly entered the house. One step at a time she made her way into the kitchen, placing her feet gracefully in gaps between the shattered glass. Reaching the middle of the room a few seconds later she motioned for Takashi to follow.

Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself, mentally going over each step he had to take. He lifted his leg, putting his right foot inside of his house. Slowly, and much less gracefully than Saeko, he crossed the floor, carefully putting each foot exactly where Saeko had placed hers.

As he neared her Saeko reach out, grasping his shoulders to guide him the last two steps. Once across they nodded to each other, Komuro going into his house, Saeko standing out of sight by the door to the entryway.

Takashi moved quickly but silently into his house, counting in his head as he went. He reached the other door, mercifully open, at the ten second mark.

He took another breath, readying his shotgun.

_Five, four, three, two, one, now!_

He moved around the door, seeing three people standing in the center of the room. One had their back to him. Moving forward swiftly, he placed the barrel of his shotgun in the back of their head just as two of them shouted "Behind-!"

They froze and Saeko and Takashi spoke in unison, "Don't Move,"

A moment of utter silence ensued. Taking charge of the Situation Takashi commanded, "Drop your weapons and move to the center of the room."

They complied, two baseball bats and a pip thudding to the floor. "Saeko, door," Takashi said. She moved opening the front door quietly, allowing some moonlight to enter.

Takashi took in the three people who were camped out in his home. Two teens, a boy and a girl, and a young boy who looked to be nine or ten. The child and the girl looked related, sharing the same snow white hair and soft blue eyes.

All three of them were tense, fear evident in the girl's eyes, anger in the child's, and desperation in the boy's. All emotions that could lead to someone dying from rash action. Takashi didn't know who these people were, they just happened to be unlucky enough to have picked his house to squat in. But he was still human, he didn't want to kill them if he could help it.

Taking a step back he lowered his shotgun. "Relax," He said, "Nobody needs to get hurt."

The three looked at him wearily, still on edge. In the end it was the child, anger overriding his fear, that spoke first. "Who the hell are you?" He asked, his voice angry, bitter, as if Takashi was to blame for all of his problems. Not the tone of voice one would expect from a nine year old.

Takashi chuckled sadly at the outburst, "I suppose names are a good place to start." He said. "The lady by the door is Busujima Saeko. My name is Komuro Takashi."

Recognition flashed over the boys face, he must have read the name on the mail box. "Well shit," he murmured. The girl elbowed him in the side, shooting him a sharp glare. "My name is Akiyama Yukiko." She said softly. "This is my little brother, Shun,"

"I'm Hashimoto Isou." The other teen said.

It was then that the rest of Takashi's group arrived at the house. Entering quickly through the open door, Saeko shutting and locking it in their wake. "Well," Takashi said, "Looks like we have some decisions to make."

**xXx**

_Truthfully, I never expected to see another living person after the fire. I thought that everyone would either be long gone, or dead. I assumed the few that remained would be crazy gangsters that I would have no trouble shooting. It's almost sad, how easy it is to kill now. Now there were three normal people before me, no more or less innocent than my own family, that had survived the madness by some stroke of skill or some god given luck. I could be their doom, and they could just as easily be ours. I know longer knew if we could afford to be saviors. And yet..._

**High School of the Dead  
>DEAD Quiet<strong>

* * *

><p>And that's a wrap. A very introspective chapter, even if I do say so myself. Sure most of my story is like that, but this chapter has to have the least amount of dialogue out of my whole story. meh, whatever.<p>

Tell me what you think. The scene at Komuro's house, too much cloak and dagger?

'Till next time,  
>Argentorum<p> 


	5. The DEAD of Night

****Not nearly as long as my last chapter, though this is probably my fastest update ever. :D

What can I say? I was just on a role with this story, plus this is almost just a continuation of the last chapter. But still I believe it deserved its own chapter.

**Important: I'm trying a new style of writing, no scene dividers in this chapter, just like a real book. Tell me if it flows well and stuff, lol.**

And so

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><p><strong>1000 Suns<br>The DEAD of Night**

_In this new world of ours it is easy to tell who you can't trust. By the insanity shining in their eyes, or the rage discoloring their voice, or the darkness that dogs their footsteps everyone can be marked as untrustworthy. No one can be trusted, there's no such thing as good will in our world any more. No place for it but an early grave. Or so I thought.  
>In this world the one who hold power is the judge, the jury, and the executioner. I don't have to like it. I only have to live by it.<em>

**xXx**

Takashi stood before three people, shotgun in hand, as he went over all they had told him. When they entered his house it was empty, undisturbed, completely untouched since day one. Neither his mother or father had been home in all that time. A waste, that's how he would characterize the last few hours. They could have been out of the city by now, free of this madness. But he couldn't give up hope, he had to grasp of the chance, the slimmest of chances, that his family might be alright. And now here he stood, three people before him who he could let live or let die.

He had come here to remove a burden from his shoulders, only to find another one settling in its place. But still the question remained. Would he be these peoples' savior? Or their doom?

Could he afford to let them stay? More likely than not he would come to regret it if he did. The three of them could steal their supplies, or their weapons, perhaps even kill his entire group if they remained. The three before him could screw them over in any number of ways during the night, no matter how vigilant they were. It was beyond dangerous to let unknown people stay at his house, borderline suicidal. It was situations like these that brought stranger danger to a whole new level. Saving them, as human as the gesture would be, was not worth his own life. When every decision you made directly affected your lifespan you realize how little is truly worth dying for.

He didn't want to just kill them either, he was still human enough to want to avoid that. He had grown used to killing, far too used to it in his opinion. But it was necessary, and he would kill as many of _them_ as he had to in order to protect him and his family. That being said, he didn't enjoy it. He knew that every time he killed one of _them_ he was ending something that had once been human. Yet he had stared out all of this madness by killing his best friend. From there, killing complete strangers was easier.

Still, there was a difference when it came to ending the life of someone who was still human. Takashi had only done that once, and he had no desire for a repeat.

The logical thing to do would simply be to force them to leave. Make them leave the house and the neighborhood. Then he and his group would be safe for certain. He wouldn't have to kill them, he wouldn't have to risk being stabbed in the back. It seemed like a perfect solution.

Except for one problem. It was full dark outside now, the clouds from earlier growing thicker until they completely blotted out the sky. No light outside at all. It had grown so dark that he had been forced to like several candles to give them enough light to see each other. And to top it off it was going to rain soon. He could smell it in the air. Forcing anyone to be outside in this weather would be the same as killing them outright. A bullet to the head might even be considered more merciful than a slow death by hypothermia as one stumbled around blindly in the dark.

So, once again, Takashi found that there was no right answer. He could let them stay at the house, or he could condemn them to death, one way or another. He really didn't think they'd care if he chose to execute them by his own hand or simply force them into a position where they would surely die. It would be the same end result either way. And he knew it.

He looked towards them again, his mind on the cusp of a decision. It weighed heavily on him, but he couldn't put his own group in danger just for the sake of his conscience. _I'm going to have to ask you to leave_. That's what he would have to say, casting them out into the night and the certain demise that came with it.

Then the white haired boy in front of Komuro caught his eye. He was a child, a year or two older than Alice at the most. But he seemed so angry, glaring at Komuro with all of his might. He started at Komuro with such utter hatred that one would think Komuro killed the kid's family or something. It was then that Takashi realized that if he kicked the three squatters out of his house he would be doing just that. And what's worse was that the kid looked dejected as well, as if he knew what choice Takashi would make, as if he knew that tonight may be his last night. He was putting up a brave face, using his anger to his the fear. But when Takashi looked into the boys eyes he could see the tears just below the surface, threatening to burst out.

Suddenly Takashi was gripped by an insane urge to prove that boy wrong. To prove to Shun that he was still human.

And the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself, "The three of you can stay here for the night." And, well, now that he said it he couldn't very well turn around and take it back now could he?

Inwardly Takashi smiled as he felt the incredulous from the others in the room, his own group and the squatters staring at him with something akin to disbelief.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Saya asked, not truly believing her ears. Takashi said what now?

"No," He replied, barely restraining his smile, "I just realized that I'm still human. I won't go condemning people to needless deaths." Then he turned towards the three, "But if you try and take advantage of the fact I won't hesitate in the slightest."

The teen, Isou, Takashi remembered, nodded. The girl, Yukiko, bowed low, "Thank you," she said, her voice breaking as if she was about to cry. His own group looked somewhat unsure of the situation, Saya glaring at him outright, but they seemed content to abide by his decision.

"Let's get set up for the night then," Takashi said calmly. Outside, it had just begun to rain.

They spent the night swapping tales, attempting to alleviate the tense atmosphere with stories of their past life, who they were before everything went to hell. Nobody got much sleep, they were two different groups of people under the same roof. Trust or not everyone was just a bit on edge.

Takashi learned that Yukiko and Shun were siblings, as she had stated earlier. Shun was in his last year of elementary school, a little league baseball star that everyone was sure would be a professional when he grew up, despite his tender age. The kid had taken their words to heart, giving his all to a sport even to the point of neglecting school. He didn't make many friends his age either. The other kids were too 'childish' for Shun, who seemed to only care about baseball. Their father had been the manager of a professional baseball team and that only served to further Shun's interest in the spot. When he fell asleep later that night Yukiko told them that her family had been worried about him burning himself out, or growing up too fast. But he always seemed happy. And then his dream was stripped away by the end of the world.

Yukiko herself was also rather talented, an aspiring violinist. And though she was no star she loved music. She wasn't nearly as driven as her brother was to excel, but she still was a good musician. One of her greatest regrets was the fact that she had to smash her violin into one of _their_ heads to survive, shattering the delicate instrument. One of the things she wanted most was to find another violin, that way she could, perhaps, keep up her music even now.

The two white haired sibling had been born on Okinawa and had lived there for most of their lives. They had been visiting the main islands with their father on a baseball tour, going to every game in the season, his treat. Their mother had stayed back at their home. She had fallen ill shortly before their departure but had urged them to go enjoy themselves regardless, saying that their uncle would be enough to take care of her. Her greatest wish, even more so than finding a violin, was to see her mother once more. Every day she prayed for her mother's safety and wellbeing, hoping against hope that they would be able to meet her again. Tears had streamed down Yukiko's cheeks as she revealed that. And Rei had put her hand on the girl's shoulder, comforting the white haired teen with gentle words and a tender embrace.

Hashimoto Isou, a sixteen year old with coal black hair and electric green eyes, was half American. His mother had been born in the United States, in a place called D.C. She had met his father while studying abroad in Japan. His dad had been a high school soccer coach, and for the first few years of his life Isou had played on club soccer teams, though he had never fallen in love with the sport like his father. Though his mother was American, and he was bilingual, he had only been to America a few times to visit relatives. His Japanese was many times better than his English, having less of a vocabulary than Saya, who had only learned English because her father required it. He had never liked fighting, and almost died at the start of everything because of it, though he refused to say how. Oddly enough he'd always wanted to own a dog. Something that, to his regret, he had often argued with his parents about. He and Zeke hit if off right away, instantly making him Alice's friend. A fact that he was very uncomfortable about, he still didn't trust the other group fully.

Takashi and his group shared their stories in turn. Everybody had a good laugh when Rei admitted to putting a raw egg on her elementary school teacher's chair so it would break when the woman sat down. They listened with interest as Saya talked about the many places her parents had taken her when she was younger. Hirano's stories about his family were met with somewhat less belief, being something that could come right out of a manga.

Shizuka drifted off shortly after that, falling asleep next to Alice while the others continued to talk. As the candles grew low Takashi pulled several more out of the kitchen cabinets, lighting them and placing them around the room to keep that darkness at bay.

It was then that they began talking _after_ everything went to hell.

"If it wasn't for Fukui-sensei I would have died." Isou said, his voice quiet and melancholy. "She kept her head when everything went to shit, grabbed any student that ran down her hall and pulled them into an empty classroom. She kept the hysteric ones calm and hot headed ones still. Somehow she managed to get us to use our heads in the middle of the madness, think up a plan before we went and got ourselves killed." He chuckled, a humorless sound. "Not like it made a difference. When she lead us out of the school half the group panicked and ran at the first sight of _them._ We tried to avoid _them_, but see nobody knew that they reacted to sound. So we just ran through the school as fast as we could, shouting at that top of our lungs like a bunch of idiots. In the end there were only five of us left, out of the fifteen or so she had gathered. By the time we reached the parking lot three of those five had been bitten, including Fukui-sensei. Then they started to turn. The last uninfected kid, Harashi I think his same was, ended up being a meal for his best friend. As she was coughing up blood Fukui-sensei gave me her car keys, telling me to get the hell out of there while I still could." His voice trailed away into silence, eyes staring into the flickering flame of a candle before him.

"How did you escape?" Saeko prompted gently.

He snorted, "How the hell do you think I got out?" He asked, "I ran as fast as I fucking could. Damn near died getting into sensei's car. As two or three of them were beating on the windshield I gunned it, tearing out of the school without a second thought." He stopped suddenly, "And I left the rest of them to die. I even saw two or three live ones on my way out, but didn't stop, didn't give them a second glance. I was scared out of my mind, and, and... God Damn it!" He shouted slamming his fist onto the floor. "Every time I think about that day I can see the faces of the people I left behind. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't just join them."

"He stopped for me and my brother though," Yukiko said quietly. "The two of us were running down a random street. We'd lost our dad somewhere along the way, everybody was screaming so loud. I was dragging Shun behind me, trying to find our dad, a cop, our hotel, anything that might be familiar. In the end we were cornered on a side street ten blocks from Onbetsu bridge. There were six or seven of _them_, I was too scared to count, closing on around us. Shun was balling his eyes out and I was so _sure_ we were going to die then, that I would never see my mother again. Then this blue car came out of nowhere, running _them _all over. It skidded to a stop in front of us and Isou shouted at us to 'get in the fucking car before more show up!' We had no idea where we were going. But somehow we managed to stay alive until the car died on us two days ago."

Takashi and his group nodded in understanding, sharing their own stories in return. They had been together practically from the beginning of it all, and whenever one of them trailed off, unable to continue the story of their escape, another one would pick up where they left off. Rei recounted mournfully how she wanted to leave the other students behind, urging Shizuka sensei to just get out of there. It had been a long road for everyone, and nobody was the same person after the first day, let alone the first week.

It was humbling, the feeling of powerlessness from it all, watching your world go to shit and not being able to do anything about it. Knowing that every day, every minute, every second might be your last.

It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Life's a bitch, and then you die,"

At the end of the night, the ten people laying around the guttering candles had new bonds with each other. Not so far as trust, not so quickly, but at least they knew each other now. They knew the others' stories, their lives, their hopes and dreams. Perhaps, between these two groups of unrelated people, there was even a bit of empathy. They slept, and outside the rain continued to fall.

The rain fell in torrential sheets, flooding the rivers as winds kicked up vast arcs of spray. The waves of the ocean grew large and formidable, crashing against the shores of Japan with unprecedented force. The wind howled and screamed as is tore across the land, throwing everything into disarray. It was a night to send humans running for cover.

To Rika the storm meant only one thing, she was stuck at the island airport for another day. Her best friend would be stuck out there for another night before Rika could even begin to search for her. Any number of things could go wrong in a single night. And worse yet storms like these were known to last for days. There was simply no way she could leave the airport in a _rowboat_ with the sea this chaotic. Even inside she could hear the wind and ran pounding against the glass.

She looked dejectedly at the large window before her, but the glass only through her image back at her. The main concourse had power again, they had managed to repair a single generator. And while the light did serve to stave off the darkness, it only served to trap her even more. With the inside brightly lit and the outside black as death, every window was converted to a mirror and Rika couldn't even look out over the ocean towards where the main island was. She had only her reflection for company, looking back at her with a forlorn stare.

Rika got down on her knees before the window and did something she hadn't done since before she joined the SDF. She prayed.

And perhaps, Kami heard.

The next morning sun shone down from above, spreading it's light all over Japan. Yet its rays no longer warmed the backs of young children or smiling men and women on their way to work. Now its light reached only the dead and dying. Falling on moving grey corpses that cared not for the sun's warmth. But its light shattered the storm, breaking the clouds that plagued the sky, bringing a new day to the beleaguered survivors of humanity. Another dawn in an endless string of dawns, proclaiming brightly that the night had passed!

And shining directly into Komuro Takashi's eyes.

His eyebrows scrunched, he could have sworn he closed all the shades last night. But he knew better than to fight it. Another day, another dilemma waiting for him to face. He sighed, stretching and sitting upright, smiling wearily at the sun, but smiling all the same. At least during the day you can see your problems.

Around him lay the slumbering forms of both groups, his own family and the three squatters that had come into his home. In the end everyone had submitted to sleep, trusting each other enough after a single night of recourse. Even Takashi felt as if he _knew_ the three now. And he was sure they felt the same. Sharing your life story was a powerful experience. But even more so, sharing your first day. Telling others your thoughts and feelings and memories of the first time you saw _them_, of the first time you fought for your life and your sanity and your very existence; while sharing your past was powerful, telling your first day was _moving_. It was an experience that everyone could relate to.

Standing up Takashi was greeted with the aroma of food coupled with sounds coming from the kitchen. Intrigued, he made his way into the other room. Standing in front of the stove was Saeko, mercifully clad in her uniform along with a lacy white apron, cooking a breakfast from the various foods she found in the pantry. How was she using the stove you ask? Komuro's house had a rather old gas stove, devoid of any electrical appliances save the starter. In short, she had turned on the gas valves and lighted the stove with a match. One that she had thrown towards the burner to avoid singing her hands, though Takashi didn't know that.

In truth, he was just happy to have a wholesome meal to start the day with. Okay so maybe instant ramen and soba noodles weren't exactly wholesome, but they were hot. And there were a lot of non perishable toppings to go with them. Takashi grinned.

Saeko turned back to him, smiling warmly. She drew him in for a quick good morning kiss.

Yes it was a new day, and Takashi would have been glad to sleep just a _little_ bit longer. But sue him if he thought that this day looked just a little bit brighter than the last.

It was a day of new beginnings for everyone. And as a small rowboat thudded onto a beach less than a mile away from the city a beautiful purple haired woman was about to find her best friend.

**xXx**

_Sometimes I wonder how we can smile, doing what we have done, seeing what we have seen. It's almost like an insult to those who didn't make it. I often thought trust to be much the same, something that had no place in this world. But then I realized it. If we threw away happiness, if we gave up trust, we would be even less human than the shambling corpses that walk our streets. Because we would be giving up our humanity voluntarily, they never had a choice._

**High School of the Dead  
>The DEAD of Night<strong>

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><p>That's a wrap. And cut. No promises that next chapter will be out as fast, but reviews might help a tad when it comes to posting new chapters, lol. Just saying<p>

Till next time,  
>Argentorum<p> 


	6. DEAD Reckoning

**1000 Suns  
>DEAD Reckoning<strong>

_In the end it all became routine. Go at one hundred percent for days on end, running off adrenaline and determination. Then drop like stones at the first opportunity and sleep like the dead. You were either on or off, draining your reserves or sleeping off the adrenal withdraw. I remember moments when I damn near fell asleep on my feet, when the haze of fatigue and sleep deprivation closed in on me.  
>And now, running on a grand total of eight hours of sleep for the last four or five days combined, I have to decide what to do with these people. Keep them, save them; or leave them, kill them. Last night all I did was delay the choice. And now, knowing these people almost as well as my own, I'm even more lost than I was to begin with.<em>

For the moment everyone save Takashi and Saeko were sleeping, allowing the two to indulge in an impromptu makeout session, their new favorite form of stress relief. Slowly, Takashi drew back, causing Saeko to pout ever so slightly. Grinning, he swooped in for one last kiss, taking her tongue into his mouth for a brief moment. With a sigh they both stepped backwards, a light blush dusting Saeko's cheeks, looking remarkably out of place with the seductive smile on her lips.

But still, they had things to do. And as much as they would have enjoyed staying like that for a moment longer they knew they had to stop. All good things must end, the trick is to enjoy them for as long as they last.

Takashi rubbed the back of his head, grinning slightly as he took her in. Saeko was his new guilty pleasure, on his mind more and more as time went on. And, more and more, she was near him, close and within easy reach as often as not. He could no longer imagine what life would be like without her by his side, almost as if the stolen moment at the hotel had sealed them together. He was still worried about what would happen if Rei found out about how close they had become. But at the same time it was so hard to worry about anything with _Saeko_ right in front of him. It was so easy to get lost in her lips, in her gaze, her touch and for the life of him Takashi couldn't find a reason to resist it any more.

He glanced at the stove. Trying to resist the urge to pull her back into a crushing embrace and kiss her again he said, "The fact that you can cook just makes my day every time."

"Only my cooking?" She asked, her eyes growing tearful. "Is that all I am to you?" Takashi sputtered. Unable to hold it back any longer a playful smirk broke out across her face. Saeko couldn't possibly convey how much she enjoyed messing around with his mind, second only to messing around with him. Killing _them_ aside there was nothing she'd rather do. She would happily spend the rest of her life by his side, and she did not doubt that he would make her life worthwhile. To make show him that she was joking she planted one last kiss on his jaw, trailing her fingers down his chest. "Go wake everyone else up, fearless leader."

With a lingering smile Takashi left the kitchen, going back to the sitting room where the ten people of his group, eleven if you counted Zeke, had spent the night. He sighed, pondering over his decision once more. At least he knew that there was one person who was unconditionally on his side.

Moving over to Hirano's slumbering form he tapped the marksman on the shoulder, trying to wake him up quietly. "Oi, Khota, wake up," He said quietly poking Hirano in the shoulder once more. When that failed he let out a long suffering sigh. "Saeko made breakfast," He said, a bit louder, "If you don't get up I'll eat your share and give you an empty plate."

Suddenly Hirano was on his feet. "What!" He choked out, glaring at Takashi who grinned slightly.

"Not my fault you weren't moving." He replied.

Khota's shoulders slumped ever so slightly, "So there's no breakfast," he voice forlorn at the prospect.

"No, there's breakfast alright, and it smells delicious. Just help me wake up every one else." Takashi replied, chuckling when Hirano instantly brightened at the news.

"Hai!" Hirano took a step forward, moving towards where Saya and Alice were sleeping, only to trip over his pants, which had slipped down slightly as he moved. He impacted on the wood floor with a low thud. "Itai..." He whimpered out slowly climbing back to his feet.

Takashi helped him back to his feet, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Hirano replied, ruefully as he pulled his pant back up again "My pants just slipped down. They've been getting kinda looser over the past few days." He said with annoyance, hiking his uniform dress pants back up to waist level.

Takashi looked at him oddly, "All it took was the end of the world to get us in shape huh?"

Khota nodded, then he chuckled as he said, "Maybe all the adrenaline is good for muscle growth or something."

"Actually, if your body pumps too much adrenalin it leads to weight gain," Shizuka interjected sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she came to a sitting position, "It also leads to adrenal fatigue and a whole bunch of other problems." She shook her head, "If anything it's probably increased levels of testosterone from constant physical exercise that lead to rapid weight loss. Coupled with the lack of food that forces your body to metastasize fat tissue."

Takashi and Hirano looked at each other for a moment, then back at Shizuka. When their eyes met the second time Hirano let out a chuckle, which turned into a laugh, then Takashi started laughing as well, and before either of them could stop they were practically doubled over, sides heaving with uncontainable laughter. It was one of those 'you had to be there' moments to understand what went through their heads. Truth be told what Shizuka said wasn't even funny, it was just the _way_ she said it, the whole situation, and an heaping dose of slap happy that set the two off.

Shizuka frowned at the two teen in front of her, "What?" She asked, somewhat annoyed by their reaction.

"Nothing, nothing," Takashi said, finally gaining enough control over himself to stand upright, "It's fine." The laughter did get everyone awake, though a few of them (read: Saya), glared at Takashi for disturbing her beauty sleep.

"Could you two idiots keep it down?" She gripped, rising up and straightening her clothes as she gathered her weapons together. On the other side of the room Isou, Yukiko, and Shin slowly arose, coming out of slumber as Komuro's own family rubbed the sleep from their eyes. Isou looked at Komuro in question, trepidation and hope mingling together in his gaze. Today would be a day of choices, that everyone knew, and one could hardly fault the other teen for his worry. Takashi met his gaze, giving him a wry smile and a shrug 'I'm still thinking about it' the gesture said. If nothing else, he would not lie to these people. They deserved that much at least. Isou let out a sigh.

Running a hand through his hair Takashi spoke to the sleepy eyed teens, and one adult, who lay sprawled around the floor. "Breakfast is ready. I'm not sure about you all but I could use a warm meal,"

Everyone brightened at his announcement. There was just something about the prospect of breakfast that made the day slightly less horrid, the prospect of facing _them_ just a bit more manageable. Takashi smiled at their brightening faces, decisions could wait until after they all got some food in their stomachs.

As they all sat down at the table, passing out bowls and chopsticks, one thought was predominant in Takashi's head, _noodles have never been so good._ It may have just been the fact that he hadn't eaten an actual _meal_ in days, not since everything started. Even back at the hotel it had been canned food and crackers, coupled with hotel booze that is. Eating when you got hungry, then tossing out the trash and getting to work. Taking time to sit down at a table and eat real food that had been prepared? It felt almost nostalgic, like they were taking a moment away from the hysteria of the world around them and spending a bit of time in their old lives, doing something that had been normal back then. It was... odd.

And the fact that he found eating breakfast odd was even more disturbing. It simply served to drive home how much everything had changed. How nothing would never, could never be the same. Takashi's head bowed forward slightly, bangs shading his eyes as he stared at his bowl as if it was somehow to blame for all of this, the good mood that infused him a few seconds ago gone entirely. He clenched the side of his seat, right hand resting on the table twitching slightly. Suddenly he was gripped by the urge to throw the bowl at the wall, shatter it, and storm out of the room. The only reason he didn't was that he couldn't comprehend _why_ he wanted to do something so base. The sudden bout of rage shocked him, but even that emotion was overpowered but the sudden urge to shout, to swear, to do something _angry._ His right hand twitched again. Emotions bubbling and boiling beneath the surface for so long came to light. All it took was the right trigger. Around him some of the others had started eating heartily, he wanted to shout. This felt so wrong, like he was... like he was what? Stomping on the memories of the dead by eating? It sounded so preposterous even in his own mind. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

"Oniisan, are you alright?"

Takashi's head snapped up, looking at Alice for a brief second before giving her a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, reaching across the kitchen table to ruffle her hair. "Just thinking."

And saying that he picked up his bowl and downed its entire contents in a few short seconds. "Gochisousamadeshita," He said, "I'll be outside when your all finished." He stood placing his bowl in the sink out of pure habit and left the room.

Most of the group didn't note anything odd about his sudden exit. Assuming that he merely left to clear his head. It was Saya who noticed his brief moment of anger. The bowed head and tense shoulders. She nudged Khota, who had already finished his second bowl of ramen. "Go check on him," She said quietly, "I'm worried."

Hirano looked at her, noting the seriousness in her eyes, and nodded. Excusing himself from the table he left to room as well. He found Takashi leaning against the front wall of the house, gripping his shotgun loosely by his side, his eyes looking up emptily, as if he was trying to see something in the morning sky, an answer to all of his questions, but no matter how hard he looked the answer simply wasn't there. His eyes glanced over briefly as Khota stepped out the front door, but he remained silent, his face studiously black.

Not knowing what to make of it Khota asked the easiest question, "Are you alright?"

Takashi chuckled, a surprisingly humorless sound, "Are any of us _alright_?" He shot back. He shook his head slowly eyes staring back up at the clouds. "I just feel so powerless," He said, not waiting for Khota to reply, "Like nothing I do, no decision I make will change anything. In the end we're still the last great gasp of a dying world. No, of a dead world, and we're doomed to die with it. I don't even think we can be called the embers of humanity anymore. We're just the ashes scattered in the wind." he blinked slowly, "In the end, I can't help but wonder if everything has been meaningless, if it would have been better to die at the beginning."

Khota didn't know what to say. Luckily Takashi didn't seem to be looking for an answer, allowing Hirano to draw his thoughts together, brooding for a few short seconds before coming up with a reply. "Then we'll make a new world." He said, "I know it sounds corny as fuck but I'm not about to give up just because you're all confused about what to do next."

Takashi looked at him, eyebrow cocked at Hirano's outburst. He smiled slightly, placing his hand on Hirano's shoulder, "Yeah." He said, "It does sound corny as fuck." Hirano stared at him, mouth flapping like a fish. "Thanks Khota," Takashi continued, "I needed the wake up call." He grinned a bit wider now, letting Hirano know that he really was thankful for the intervention. He leaned back against the wall as before, but his eyes were a little more focused, his expression a little more genuine. "I'm going to let them join our group," He said, after a brief silence. "Do you think it's a good idea?"

Khota sighed, he tapped his rifle against his shoulder. "I think we can trust them," He replied, "They seem, well, more like us then like Shido," Takashi nodded, understanding Hirano's analogy. "I mean, it's a big decision, but sometimes you have to take risks right?"

"Well," Takashi said, "I was thinking more along the lines of 'sometimes we have to be human' even now." Khota nodded, finding Takashi's analysis more to his liking.

"Then go for it."

"Thanks, Khota."

"Don't mention it," Khota allowed a small smile to cross his face.

The rest of those inside the house trickled out onto the lawn slowly, whispering quietly to one another or standing in complete silence. The morning was quiet, the atmosphere subdued as Komuro extended his offer towards Isou, Yukiko, and Shun. They were surprised and wary, suspicious of Takashi's motives. Yet they had hope as well, hope that Komuro truly offer them a place in his group out of the goodness of his heart. And so they accepted.

The reactions of Takashi's own group were interesting as well. Not a single one of them was against his decision but they all showed it in different ways. Saya rolled her eyes, Rei smiled softly, Shizuka clapped her hand together, Saeko nodded once, Khota grinned. And Alice, little innocent Alice, threw herself at Komuro, hugging him tightly, "Thank you so much Oniisan!" She said, joy ringing from every syllable.

Everyone chuckled at that, their spirits raised substantially. In a world where everything is dark even the briefest moments of light can have a profound effect.

The laughter was contagious, soon everyone was grinning and laughing so hard they shook, quietly of course. When Shizuka arrived with the jeep they piled in with smiles on their faces, ready to face whatever might come next.

Flooring the pedal, and taking out a few of _them_ on the way, Shizuka sent them down the street. Glancing over at Takashi she asked, "Next stop?"

Takashi looked out the back window at the rapidly disappearing house, the place he'd grown up in, his no longer. They had been to everyone's houses, and neither Isamu nor Yukiko had family in the city. They had done everything they could possibly hope to. Takashi took a breath, accepting the fact that he'd probably never see 'his' house again. "Let's get out of this god forsaken city," He said. "Head for the city limits, we're going on a camping trip."

"We'll need to stop and get some supplies," Saya said, "We aren't equipped to handle living outdoors."

Komuro sighed, "I have no clue where we can get the stuff we'd need. Best bet is to just keep moving, hope we find a store on the way."

"That's your master plan?"

"We have a long drive until we get out of the city, even longer until we're far enough away from 'civilization' for it to be safe. We'll just have to find something as we go."

"Um," Isou spoke up. His voice was uncertain but when Takashi gestured for him to continue he plowed ahead. "My dad was kind of a camping fanatic. He went back to America with my mom once and some friends of theirs took him on a camping trip. Ever since then he'd taken to stockpiling sleeping bags, tents, and stuff like that at our house." He smiled wryly, "We only ever used the stuff once, so it should be in good enough shape."

Takashi nodded, "That's where we're going then. Can you give directions to your house to Marikawa-sensei?"

Isou nodded, climbing into the front seat, "Take a turn in two blocks. Then..."

The jeep sped down the streets, engine roaring. _They_ followed behind whenever they could, but stopped as soon as the sounds of the engine faded into the distance. The new inhabitants of the city shifted, then stopped as the jeep drew near them and then passed them by. _They_ heard, but failed to understand. But others have ears that still function.

The city was dead silent, the growl of the jeep engine cutting across the air for miles. A distance away the sound, though muffled and indistinct, reached the ears of an S.A.T. sniper. Her head snapped up when she heard, looking in the direction of the far off sound.

"Bingo," Rika whispered to herself. She swung a leg over her bike, its engine refitted after the EMP, and sped off into the maws of the city.

Lugging the bike to the mainland had been a pain and there were several times she was sure the boat would capsize because of it. Not to mention the ungodly pain that had been involved with getting it out of the boat and up the sandy beach to an actual _road_. But now that all paid off as Rika swerved expertly between abandoned cars, dodging _them_ almost instinctually.

If she was fast she could catch them before nightfall, but regardless of how much she wanted to speed off with no regard for life or limb she still had to pause occasionally to listen for the sound of their engine. Going was slow, but each time the engine sounded louder, tantalizingly out of reach.

She had to be care too, when she paused, never stay still for long enough to let _them_ close their grasp around her. Stopping her bike for a brief second she tilted her head to catch the sounds of the humvee's engine. _There!_ Whipping out her pistol she shot the three of them that had gotten too close. _Six shot's left_ she noted, slipping her colt .45 back into its holster before she gunned the throttle, taking off down the street. She was closing in on them, that much was certain. Through the grace of God above or by some luck that defied human understanding she was going to find them. She twisted the handle forward even more, urging her bike to even greater speeds.

She could feel the obsession to get to Shizuka creeping into her mind. The need to get to her best and only remaining friend while there was still time. It was a need, clawing at her. She simply _had_ to go.

Leaning so far to the right her thigh practically scraped the ground she whipped around a turn, yanking her motorcycle back and forth to avoid cars and _Them_. If she had bothered to check the speedometer read nearly seventy, but she couldn't have cared less. It was only her last vestiges of caution that kept her from opening it up all the way and tearing down the street like a demon from hell.

Rika wasn't one to have friends, and she had already lost one of the few she had considered a friend to this new world. He had died in a split second of carelessness. And by the time she'd realized what had happened to him it had been far too late.

She would _not_ let that happen to Shizuka. The woman was too kind, too good, and far, far, too perfect to die at the hands of _them_. As she sped down the street the sun glinted off of her Heckler & Koch PSG-1, strapped across her back. She'd snagged her sniper on the way out of the base, illegally, but she decided she needed it more.

Not like there were any good snipers at the base with her and her partner gone.

_Focus on the present, Rika_. She commanded herself. Now was not the time to be reminiscing. She stopped her bike again, and there was the sound of the humvee, close enough now to be easily discernible in the silent city, before speeding off again. This time none of _them_ were close enough to warrant the use of her pistol. Good, she needed to conserve ammo.

The motorcycle disappeared around another turn, fast in pursuit of Shizuka and company. Less than a mile away their humvee finally drew to a stop in front of Isou's house, wheels crunching across the asphalt.

It was a plain house, no different from all the other houses on the block. As the crew got out of the car they quickly cleared all of the nearby zeds, an old routine that the newcomers slipped into easily. Soon they would be newcomers no more.

Soft, _thuds,_ filled the air as _they_ dropped to the ground one after another, felled by the survivors. When the street was clear Takashi motioned for Isou to move closer. "Where's all the camping gear located?" He asked.

Isou chuckled slightly, "All over the place, crammed wherever we could fit it all." He replied.

Takashi looked at him. "Well then, what will we need? I have no clue for stuff like this."

Isou shrugged, "Sleeping bags for everyone, preferably the ones that are good to below freezing temperatures just in case. A few small tents for rain and things like that, but those are just the obvious ones. A propane stove would be nice, I think we have a dozen or so propane tanks lying around, don't ask me how he got those. Then the..." He continued on for a minute or two, detailing things like backpacks, pots and pans, water purifiers, bags to actually _carry_ the water, and stuff like that. "We'll have to find as much nonperishable food as we can," He added, "But we don't have much camping food here."

Takashi nodded for a few moments, digesting the large glut of supplies that they would need. "You know where all of this stuff is?"

"Mostly."

Takashi nodded, "We'll follow your lead then. Khota and I will help you carry the stuff out, Rei too." Turning back to the group he added, "I want Saeko, Yukiko, and Saya and everyone else to stay by the humvee. keep _them_ from getting to close. Shizuka be ready to head out when we're done." Everyone nodded, used to Takashi's brief and succinct instructions.

Isou, for his part, was caught off balance by Takashi's sudden statement of 'following his lead'. But he shook it off quickly, it was his house after all, so it made sense. "Let's go then," He said, leading the others to the front door.

Reaching into his pocked he withdrew his house key that he had kept for all this time. Never once had he thought to throw it away, just as never once he had thought to use it. Sliding it into the lock twisted it quickly, opening the door with a sharp tug. It rolled open on squeaking wheels, reveal the rough gray flagstone of the entryway and the well swept wood floors beyond. Isou let a melancholy smile cross his face as he stepped into his parents home once more. Here, everything was familiar, the coats on the rack, the sandals in the cubbies. If he just focused on how everything was the same, for the time being he could ignore how nothing would ever be the same again.

He could pretend, at least for a while, that the world outside wasn't filled with flesh eating monsters that had once been human. He could shut all that out, and bury himself in the familiarity of his home, absorb himself in the mundane task of gathering camping supplies.

It probably wasn't healthy, he figured, but it kept him going, at this point that was all this point it was all he could truly ask for.

Behind him Takashi, Khota, and Rei entered the house quickly. Stepping onto the wood floor Isou looked around, taking a moment for himself before he got down to business.

He pointed to a door way on the right, a few steps away, "There should be sleeping bags in there. Make sure you get the ones with down feathers; they're the thicker ones. Takashi nodded, going that into the room. The other three followed Isou into the house as he pointed out the things that they would need.

The camping supplies really were scattered all over the house, a backpack or two there, a propane tank shoved under that. In all seriousness half the clutter in the house was composed of camping supplies. Isou smiled vaguely when Rei pointed out the fact. His father had truly been obsessive about camping.

The four of them quickly began making their way in and out of the house, loading up camping supplies as quickly as possible. Saya made an offhand remark that there was a faster way to do stuff like that, but she didn't care to elaborate, so they continued as before.

It was when all four of them were inside the house that they heard the engine.

Takashi's head snapped up, involuntarily dropping what he was carrying. Snatching his shot gun from where it lay on the kitchen counter he raced outside as the growl of a motor grew louder. He was the first one out, hopping onto the roof of the humvee and bringing his shotgun to bear in the direction of the approaching vehicle. Beside him Saya already had her silenced MP5 set up as the Rei, Isou, and Hirano raced out of the house.

Far down the road, a sleek motorcycle appeared at the top of a rise, roaring down the street towards them.

Khota quickly took a knee beside the jeep, steadying his rifle and tracking the target as it moved closer. "Should I take the shot?" He asked, eyes never leaving the scope.

"Give 'em a warning shot." Komuro replied, "Something that they're sure to notice."

Khota nodded, picking up a target in an instant he pulled the trigger, letting a single round fly from the barrel. Up the street, a few meters in front of the motorcyclist, the side mirror of a car shattered, bits of plastic and glass exploding outward as the bullet impacted. Seeing this the cyclist pulled a hard right, skidding to a stop and cutting the engine around a hundred yards away from them.

Flipping down the kickstand the figure stepped off the bike, hands held before them, showing a lack of weapons. Reaching of, the person removed there helmet, shaking her head once as long purple hair cascaded down her shoulder, a trait visible even from this distance.

From inside the humvee Shizuka gasped, grabbing the binoculars. Upon seeing the motorcyclist closer Shizuka practically leapt from the humvee, "Rika!," She shouted, her voice suffuse with joy as she dashed down the street, leaving the others to stare at her in disbelief. The other woman sprinted forwards as well, unhindered by the sniper rifle strapped over her shoulder. The group watched as the two crossed the entire distance of a football field in under a minute, Shizuka leaping forward to glomp the other woman in the last few seconds.

Words were exchanged, too far away for everyone else to hear, as the two, now ecstatic, woman walked back towards the Humvee. Takashi looked on for a few more seconds, before sighing to himself and slinging the Ithaca over his shoulder. "You know," He said out loud, "I'm not even surprised anymore." To his right Saya muttered something sarcastic under her breath.

Khota stood, leaning towards Takashi as he said, "Do you think she's the lady we got the guns from?"

Before Takashi could reply, Shizuka, who was within reasonable shouting distance called, "Mina-san, This is my friend Rika. She's the lady who's guns we took,"

"Well I guess that answers that question," Hirano mumbled.

Takashi nodded, "Come on Khota," He said sliding of the Humvee. Shotgun over his shoulder he strode forward to meet this 'Rika'. His steps were strong, purposeful. He wanted to make a good first impression. Khota flanked him to the left, following half a step behind.

Takashi was wary of this new development, but if she was Marikawa-sensei's friend than she at least deserved a chance, the lifesaving cache of guns they had 'borrowed' aside. As they approached each other Takashi could see that Shizuka wore a blinding grin, practically bouncing up and down as she chattered to her purple haired friend. Rika wore a bright smile as well, though with much more control, she offered the occasional comment in the midst of Shizuka's endless stream of words.

When they approached Rika suddenly drew to a stop, looking over Takashi with an inquisitive gaze.

Takashi, for his part, met her eyes confidently before taking a step forward and bowing at the waist. "Hagimemashite. Watashi wa Komuro Takashi desu,"

Rika cocked an eyebrow at his formal greeting, but responded in kind. "Hagimemashite. Watashi wa Minami Rika. Dozo Yorushiku,"

"Dozo Yorushiku,"

"Well," Rika said after a short pause, "I've heard a bit about you from Shizuka, mostly in the last few seconds," She adds with a grin. "I'm glad to finally make your acquaintance."

Komuro returned her smile, "Like I said, it's pleasure to meet you. I'd like to thank you as well,"

"Really, for what?"

"For these guns." He replied, taking the Ithaca off of his shoulders, "If we hadn't found them we'd probably be dead. So thank you,"

Rika smiled a bit wider at this, "Glad they served their purpose."

_It was another unexpected development. But this time, at least, it was a pleasant one. Another hand, another gun, and someone who obviously knows how to use it. For once, I can actually say that I'm glad. And that alone is something to be glad about as well._


	7. Grasping DEAD

**1000 Suns  
>Grasping DEAD<strong>

_It was a reunion. Something we'd spent the last week looking for, a reunion with friends or family, with neighbors or relatives. And now, after we've since given up finding anyone we knew alive, someone found us. Rika Minami is her name, the closest friend of our very own Shizuka Marikawa. Reliable, steadfast, and here to stay.  
>I couldn't argue with that even if I wanted to. Shizuka-sensei would have my head on a platter. So all I could really say was, for the first time in a while, things were looking up.<br>Rather ominous, if you ask me._

* * *

><p>The group got back to work quickly, preferring to save pleasantries for a later, safer, time. It was a boring job, loading the jeep. But the best part about mundane tasks, Takashi noted, is that they distracted you from reality, gave you time to think about other things. But as the leader, he couldn't really afford that. He could never allow himself to truly forget<p>

Takashi knew it was selfish, but part of him hoped that Minami-san would take the burden of leadership off his shoulders. After all, she was older, more capable, and actual _soldier_ for kami's sake. But the practical side of him, the part that he couldn't turn off, knew that it wouldn't happen.

For one, leadership wasn't just a matter of talent, it was about trust. Saya would never trust some random newcomer, no matter what his or her relationship with the rest of the group was.  
>Saeko as well would choose Takashi as a leader over anyone else in the group, as would Rei in all likelihood.<br>And Minami Rika wasn't stupid. She would figure this out just as easily as Takashi did. As Shizuka's friend, she wouldn't want to cause trouble. So she wouldn't even make a bid for 'leadership'.

And as much as Takashi wanted to, he couldn't just walk up to her and ask her to take his place.

Takashi let out a sigh, slapping his hands on his pants as they finished loading the humvee.

Isao looked over the pile of supplies critically, trying to remember anything he might have forgotten. Rei, Takashi, and Hirano had followed his instructions to the letter, gathering everything he asked for, but he still wanted to be absolutely sure they had everything they could even need. Isou rubbed the back of his head. They'd be camping for a very long time, after all.

He chuckled nervously. "Ano, I think that's everything we'll need." He mumbled to the pink haired girl, Takagi, if his memory was good.

She sighed, obviously annoyed at his shyness, "Good," She replied curtly, "I'll tell Komuro," She found their fearless leader leaning against the side of the house. His tawny eyes were cloudy and half lidded, but even though he appeared distant, he noticed Saya's arrival. He cocked an eyebrow an unspoken question, _What do you need?_ "Isou said we have everything loaded," Saya replied, "We're good to go,"

Takashi sighed, nodding silently. "Right then." Turning he said, "Marikawa-sensei, please start the jeep. Everyone, we're heading out now." He spoke quietly, but still everyone listened, ceasing their own movement to catch what he was saying. When he finished they all moved quickly, gathering up their positions efficiently and getting into the humvee without delay. They didn't even pause to nod or give any other affirmation that they had heard him. Everyone just assumed his orders would be carried out.

Sometimes Takashi hated that, but he didn't have time to complain. Because at that moment Shizuka started the humvee, and it sputtered once before going completely silent.

Takashi blinked once. Shizuka tried again. The engine whined, but refused to turn over. "Fuck."

He walked over to the window quickly. "What's wrong?" He asked, no nonsense in his voice.

"Ano..." Shizuka began, looking over the humvee quickly, almost panicking. Then she let out a sigh of relief. "It's just out of gas."

Silence.

"Why didn't you notice before?"

Shizuka choked. Takashi's tone wasn't loud or forceful, but she could practically feel the rage simmering just beneath the surface. Suddenly she felt that, if she couldn't provide a satisfactory answer, she would die.

"W-we.. we were going so fast. I-I never had time to check, always something else- had to do i-instead..." She stuttered out, her voice barely making carrying to Takashi's ears. At length he nodded, and Shizuka felt the anger and resentment drain from the air. But she looked at Komuro worriedly. Where' s before he had looked dark and brooding, now he appeared practically despondent. His tawny eyes looking at some far off place.

"Does anyone know where the nearest gas station is?" He asked, directing the question to everyone inside the vehicle, "I didn't see any gas containers on Minami-san's bike, so we're going to have to scavenge some from the pump."

"We passed one about three miles back," Saya replied, "But that's the nearest one I saw."

Isou shook his head, "That's the only one close by, as far as I know. There might be one closer, but I've never seen it."

Takashi nodded. "Saeko, Minami-san, and I will go to the gas station. The rest of you bunker down inside the house, we'll grab some packs to make carrying the gas tanks easier. Expect us back in about two hours or so." He commanded, before turning to Rika, "That is, if you don't mind accompanying us."

She shook her head with a smile, "No problem." She put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll help as much as I can." Takashi relaxed slightly. He was glad to have her on his side. After all, at least Rika could take care of herself.

As they left Saya and the others quickly entered the house. Hirano remained in the front room so he could see the street as the rest made us of the seats in the living room. Saya sat slightly apart from the rest. She curled up in a small chair by the a window and looked out at what her world had become.

She was in a complicated mood. Of course, everything about her was complicated, and her moods became increasingly so as this whole _situation_ wore on. But now, she couldn't decide whether she should be happy or sad about their current state of affairs. They had supplies, they had guns, they had a honest to god S.A.T. sniper. Objectively, things looked good. But Saya couldn't quite bring herself to see anything in a positive light. Four new people meant four chances that they would be screwed over in the worst possible way. It wasn't even that Saya believed any of the newcomers were bad people. But she knew from experience, Desperation made people do desperate things.

Like leaving their only child to fend for herself while they took care of more _important _matters.

She couldn't bring herself to trust anyone she didn't know implicitly. And even among the people she did know, there were few she would actually put much faith in.

Rei and Saeko could only be trusted as far as Takashi wasn't involved, and there were several situations where she'd rather be without them entirely. Khota was liable to snap and go crazy, but up until that point he was probably the most reliable. Shizuka and Alice were children, mentally or physically as the case may be, and she would treat them as such until they grew up.

Zeke was a dog.

Out of everyone in their original group, the only person she'd trust in any situation was Komuro. He was the only one who would put their 'family' as a whole before his own interests. And even now she could see how the burdens of leadership were pushing him closer and closer to the edge.

Of course, when it came to falling over the razor's edge between caution and insanity, Saya wasn't one to talk. She had danced perilously close to that edge her whole life, drawing ever closer to the intangible line with each passing day in this hell.

And that, truthfully, was the real reason why Saya couldn't be happy. She was far too haunted. The tragedies kept piling up one after another, from the fire, to the dead man, to everything in between. But none of those really messed up her mind. No, the origin of her downward spiral occurred on the first day. When she had drilled a hole in a man's head.

Even now she remembered it clearly, but that was no surprise. None of her exercises could excise the memory from her mind. She was stuck forever with the sight of snapping teeth and rotting flesh. And each passing day only served to reinforce the gruesome specter in her mind.

Which is why it took Hirano three tries to bring her back to reality. "Takagi-san. Takagi-san! We have a problem."

Her head snapped up, "What?"

He chuckled nervously when she snapped at him, but the seriousness of the situation won over out over his shyness. "Well, I guess it's best if you saw for yourself."

No it would be best if she never saw anything for herself ever again, Saya thought grimly. But all the same she rose and followed Hirano to the front hall. He pointed into the street, where a small number of _them_ shambled around the humvee. Saya glanced at him in annoyance, "What the hell is the problem, Fatass," She whispered. "You can't honestly believe that seven of _them_ will pose any hindrance to us."

Hirano just shook his head. Gesturing with his gun he said, "Not the number, look at the one in the cop uniform."

"What about _it_."

"Its _I.D._ damnit!"

Saya glanced back up, snatching the pair of binoculars Hirano offered her. She looked through them for a moment, and froze. "_Shit,"_ she hissed out, her amber eyes hardening as she handed the binoculars back to the sniper.

Hirano grimaced as he glanced back towards _them. _"My thoughts exactly." Saya swore again under her breath, but otherwise remained silent as the two of them continued to observe the former police officer. "What should we do, Saya?"

Saya was silent for a few moments. Then she took a deep breath, "Shoot it," She commanded. Hirano looked at her in disbelief, but Saya was already pulling out the silenced MP5 her mother had given her. Glaring back at Hirano she growled, "You can do it right?" She shoved him the MP5, taking his rifle.

Hirano gulped, "Saya... Are you sure that's the best idea?" He glanced back out the open door, "I mean..."

"I know what you mean!"

Hirano flinched. But Saya calmed some as she continued. "Yeah, I'm sure it's a good idea." She took a deep breath, "But we'll have to move the body." When Hirano gaped at her she defended herself vehemently. "Look, this is the last thing our group needs. It could rip us to shreds, and knowing her..."

Hirano let out a deep breath and nodded. "You right." He replied," I'll... I'll take the shot,"

Saya nodded in relief, "Wait until the others won't hear the gun go off. I'll get us some gloves."

She moved back into the house quietly as Hirano took his position. He steadied his scope on _it_, no need to compensate for anything at this distance. The house had a long path separating it from the street as well, so _they_ wouldn't hear the either. Hirano settled in to wait.

Suddenly Alice started giggling, and the rest of the group in the room with her began to laugh as well. Hirano added his own dark chuckle, as he tightened his finger around the trigger . The laugh track certainly didn't make the task any more pleasant. He couldn't shake the feeling that what they were doing was wrong, but at the same time Saya was right. They had to handle this quickly.

He took the shot, and no one else in the whole world heard it. "If a tree falls in a forest..." He whispered to himself.

Then Saya was next to him with two pairs of gloves. He took a pair from her, and they made their way outside quietly. The zed Hirano had shot was at the edge of the group. Saya grabbed it's feet while Khota took the arms.

The corpse was heavy, but neither of them said a word. With a jerk of her head Saya indicated the fence separating the neighboring house. The half carried, half dragged the body over to the fence and dumped it over. Saya quickly peeled off the gloves and threw them on top of the body, motioning for Khota to do the same. She spared one last glance at the corpse, her eyes lingering on the I.D. next his badge. Then she shook her head, knowing that this memory too would linger no matter how hard she tried to rid herself of it. Then she turned her back on the whole affair as they quietly reentered Isou's house.

When they sat down at the edge of the tiled entry Saya was surprised when Khota pulled an unopened can of sake from one of his combat vest's oversized pockets. "Snagged it from the hotel." He said when she cocked an eyebrow, "Figure now's as good a time as ever to get a little tipsy." He popped the lid and passed it to Saya after he took a sip.

She accepted the can with a wry smile and took a deep gulp. "As long as we can stay sober enough to keep our mouths shut." She replied.

"Ah" Khota agreed.

Suddenly Isou, came running down the stairs behind them, a small grin on his face. He paused when he saw Khota and Saya sitting in the doorway. "Where'd you two go? You weren't there when I went upstairs five minutes ago.

"We were looking through the other rooms for useful stuff," Saya replied smoothly, before sipping at the beer and handing it back to Khota. The sniper took a drink to avoid having to say anything.

Isou shrugged, more curious than anything else. In any case, he couldn't keep the grin off his face as he continued, "I found it,"

"Found what?" Khota asked.

He held up the plastic bag at his side, opening it to reveal it was filled with colorful red packages, the type that candy came in. Saya took one out, but the writing was all in English. "What are these?"

"Skittles!" Isou replied gleefully, looking much younger than his sixteen years. "I love these things!"

Alice skipped into the front hall when she heard voices. Seeing the bag in Isou's hands she gave him a hug. "Oniisan found his sweets!" She said gleefully. Isou just chuckled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He then explained how he had tasted skittles once on a trip to America, and had splurged all of his spending money on as many packets as he could buy, to his parents utter shock. His mother had rationed the amount he was allowed to have each month, and had hidden the rest from him in fear that Isou would go on a sugar binge one day and end up comatose. A fear not entirely unfounded as he had more than ten movie theatre sized packets in the plastic bag. You know, the kind that weighed over two pounds and were so big they had ziplock tops so you could close them again.

"My mom would throw if fit if she saw I..." He suddenly trailed off, looking at the plastic bag in his hand with a melancholy smile. "I guess it's just another bittersweet memory now though, isn't it?" He refused to stay down however. Tearing open a bag he poured himself a handful of the rainbow colored candies and popped them all into his mouth at once. He offered some to everyone else, but no one else in the group could stand their impossibly sweet taste.

Yukiko giggled as Isou just shrugged and downed another handful before putting the entire plastic bag into his duffle. "Those things will give you cavities, you know." She said, wagging her finger. "Not to mention make you fat."

Rei laughed playfully, "Gaining weight is what your worried about? I'm just surprised he can each those things, they're way too sweet."

Yukiko smirked and sidled up next to Rei, "I wonder what other _sweet _things he likes," She murmured suggestively. As Isou blushed furiously, both girls broke out into a giggling fit. Saya just shook her head at the terrible innuendo. Alice, of course, didn't get it, asking what was wrong with liking sweet things. And that just caused everyone to laugh even louder, while Shizuka explained that there was nothing wrong with it, but that she couldn't explain more until Alice was older. In the end even Saya started chuckling. It was just one of those moments that was only funny if you were there, and they would all cherish the memory of that day.

Even at the end of the world, there are good memories to be made.

[page break]

Takashi, Saeko, and Rika made their way back towards Isou's house after they had filled up several tanks of gas at the station. Between the three of them they were carrying almost twenty gallons of gas, which made for slow going. But on the way to the station the three had already killed all of _them_ they came across, knowing the return journey would be more difficult.

Now though, the road was empty of _them_ and a gentle breeze blew countless sakura petals past them. The world appeared peaceful. The world appeared...

"As it was before," Saeko murmured.

Komuro looked around him again. "Yeah. It makes you remember what everything was like before _them_. It reminds you of the reason to keep fighting despite it al."

Rika chuckled, "Really? What's your reason to keep going? I've forgotten mine a while ago." Takashi just shook his head, looking up at the blooming Sakura trees as he tried to frame his thoughts. Rika was about to tell him to forget it when he spoke.

"Because there's a chance. A small one, but a chance all the same, that the world could be like this again. That we could fix this mess, and start over from the beginning." He took a deep breath, "That if we _survive _long enough we could make a world where we could _live_."

"I would like to see that," Saeko said quietly.

"Yeah."

Rika looked at the sakura trees as well as she remembered what life had been like before. It was a painful, melancholic, exercise, remembering old friends and times of laughter. But at the same time it was hopeful, if one could believe that the world might go back to the way it was.

Rika could understand why the group had chosen Komuro as their leader, with just a few words he had lifted their spirits. So they continued back toward the house with smiles on their faces.

The rest of the trip passed quickly, despite the weight of the gasoline. And they arrived back at the house about an hour and 45 minutes after their departure. It was around one thirty when they made it back, plenty of daylight left. So the group cleared the last of _them_ around the humvee, loaded up a few more bits of supplies, and filled the tank. Well, they filled it as much as possible, the monster had a 32 gallon tank. All in all, the biggest problem with moving out was seating arrangements.

But Saya couldn't stop thinking about earlier that day. She was so distracted that in the end Isou had to help Alice into the Humvee and she didn't even notice the odd glances the others were sending her. But even if she had noticed, she wouldn't have cared. Saya kept going back to the moment when she told Khota to shoot the zed. She still didn't know if she had made the right choice, the quickest one sure, the one least likely to cause conflict definitely. But not necessarily the right one.

And Saya knew she would remember that decision for the rest of her life, along with everything else.

And she would never, ever, forget what _its_ name had been. The name of the zed Khota had shot, emblazoned on _its_ brass nameplate.

Nearly two hours ago Saya had ordered Khota Hirano to kill _Tadeshi Miyamoto_. Rei's father.

And no one was the wiser.

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, I'm still not sure I made the right decision when I told Khota to shoot Miyamoto-san. I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt me later, kami knows I have enough problems.<br>What? You were expecting Takashi to do this again? Too bad, I figured I have something more important to say this time around._

_Because in the end, only Khota and I know what we've done. And I'm positive no one else in the group would understand. But I know Rei, and seeing her father like that, after all the time she's spent looking for him...  
>By all rights, it would destroy her. And that's the last thing we need.<em>

_So I'll live with the guilt until the day I die, which probably isn't too far off, and I'll go to my grave without telling a single living soul.  
>I only hope Khota can do the same.<em>

**High School ****of the Dead  
>Grasping DEAD<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><strong>And cut. So, this hasn't been changed much, but I've started on the next chapter, and I'll probably be editing and re uploading a few more chapters in the near future.


	8. The good, the bad, and the DEAD

**1000 Suns  
>The good, the bad, and the DEAD<strong>

_When I was a little kid, I always loved long car rides. They were peaceful, if a bit cramped, and the gentle rumbling of the car would rock me to sleep. Now, riding in our "car" is the only time left when I can safely fall relax. Inside a military grade humvee, with bullet proof glass, inches of armor plating, and enough guns to take over a city, is the only safe haven left in the whole. wide. world. _

_Funny, how things change._

The humvee's engine was the only sound in the city. He sat next to Saya on the roof of the vehicle, shotgun propped against his shoulder as his eyes scanned for potential threats. The group moved slowly through the street, with Rika shadowing them on her motorcycle, and they used the humvee's massive bumper to shunt cars blocking their path out of the way. As the group drew closer to the city limits, the number of abandoned cars had increased dramatically, evidence of people trying to flee. What's more, the group was forced take stay off the main roads. The highway was practically impassible, filled with empty cars and _them_. Hirano had been confident that they could make it through with enough effort, they had the firepower and a tank of a car, but even he admitted it would be slow going. Takashi wanted out of the city as fast as possible. By tonight he wanted to make it to the less densely populated suburbs. But almost all of Japan was covered with buildings of some sort. It would be days before they would be beyond the reaches of 'civilization'.

He'd though about crossing the ruins of Takagi manner, as _they_ had been purged from that area as surely as the living had been, but doing so would cause many more problems than it would solve.

"It would be best," Saya said from where she sat next to him. "To head for the mountains or the sea. Most of the coast is pretty densely populated, but if we could get off Hokkaido1 and to one of the smaller islands we might have a chance. Otherwise our best bet is probably the mountains towards the center of the island, less buildings, less people."

Takashi nodded. "Right now let's focus on getting farther away from the city center. We'll head south for the time being. But sooner or later we'll have to make that choice."

"Rika mentioned the island airport," Saya continued. "From how she makes it out, it seems like the safest place left in Japan." She snorted, "Unless there's some fortress holdout on one of the smaller islands."

"Why wouldn't there be any safe zones on Honshu or one of the southern islands?" Hirano asked, poking his head of through the hole in the roof.

"Their population density is too high." Saya sighed. "Just look at what happened here," She gestured around them, "Can you imagine how devastating this outbreak must have been in Tokyo or Kyoto? How many of _Them_ there would be even after the first _day_?"

"And slowly those lucky enough to survive would be picked off by the horde," Komuro finished gruffly "I get it. Hundreds of thousands of dead. We're little better off here, at least Honshu would have had a higher concentration of the S.D.F."

"Yatta," Saya deadpanned, "They still have no chance. The whole U.S. Marine core would run out of bullets before _they _stopped coming."

Silence descended upon the group. "So..." Hirano spoke, "About that air port?"

Saya coughed once, taking control of her emotions again, "It's the safest bet. Isolated, with its own generator in all likelihood. The only problem is procuring food and water. But, with enough effort and if the generators could be repaired, the airport could be made self-sufficient."

Komuro scratched the back of his neck, "According to Rika, nobody from the mainland has made contact with the airport in days. Whatever group of people that was controlling sea travel has probably ceased to exist by now. Unless we can sail a ship, there's no good way to get to the island."

"Rika came here on a motor boat."

Takashi just laughed wryly. "You can see Hokkaido from the airport. But Rika said she couldn't see the airport once she made it to the shore. In all likelihood we'd miss it by a mile, and that's assuming we could find a ship big enough to carry us all that still works. I know you're smart Saya, but do you know how to repair an engine?" He just shook his head at the idea.

Saya looked away, wishing now that she'd spent even a bit more time with Mad, the family engineer, learning how vehicles worked. Because Takashi was right, she had no idea, and if she didn't know how to fix a boat, then the others probably didn't know either. The whole idea was just another dead end.

She only wondered how often god would close keep closing the door on them, and how long he would keep opening up windows.

Saya ran a hand through her hair. "The mountains aren't a much better solution though." She admitted with a sigh. "We'd still have to go into the city to get supplies and there would always be a chance that some of _them_ would stumble across us."

Hirano chuckled darkly. "This whole situation is completely FUBAR." When the other two looked at him oddly he added, "Ano... It's an American term I picked up while I picked up in the states. It means "fucked up beyond all relief" Kinda like this whole mess right?"

Takashi only sighed even as Saya berated Hirano for his coarse language. It didn't matter if there were no good options, he still had to make a choice.

It was then that the humvee drew to a sudden stop. In front of them was a large pile up of cars, so deep that it would hours to force their way through it, if clearing the wreckage was possible at all. Takashi blinked once in annoyance.

He thumped the roof twice and leaned into the vehicle. "Best just go back the way we came and find another way around." he told Shizuka. The blonde nodded, spinning the car in a smooth one eighty, but she stopped suddenly before hitting the gas again.

"Ummm... We might have a problem..."

The engines, like Takashi had noted many times, really _are_ the loudest noises in the city.

Stumbling towards the humvee was a horde of _them,_ drawn by the noise of running engines like moths to a flame, or rather, like vultures to corpse. With each passing second more of _them_ stumbled onto the street, adding the already present mob. By now the count was easily past three dozen, growing every second. Of to the side Takashi heard Rika curse as she yanked out her colt. Hirano scrambled onto the roof of the car, readying his rifle as well as the tide of _them _grew closer. "What's the game plan leader?" He asked quietly, calm before the sea of undead faces.

There was a path down the center of the street, just wide enough for the humvee, that they'd cleared on the way out. Taking the gap between the wrecked cars was a risky bet, but if the group had to leave the humvee to dodge _them,_ Isou's camping supplies would be lost as well, not to mention a large portion of their food and ammo. "Stay close behind us Minami-san!" He called. "We're going straight down the middle!" He brought his Ithaca to bear just as the first few of _them_ reached the humvee and unloaded a facefull of buckshot into the crowd.

Guns roared like thunder the hummer ripped down the street once more, leaving only death and destruction in its wake.

It took minutes for the vehicles to break free of the hoard, and Shizuka pulled a sharp right onto the open road in an attempt to put _them_ a distance behind. The rest of the group reloaded their weapons, readjusted their clothes, and settled in for the ride.

"We're getting awfully good at that, aren't we?" Rei noted, glancing over her shoulder. "All the killing."

"Not like we have much of a choice, do we?" Saya snapped as she slid back into the vehicle.

"I know that," Rei frowned, "But where does it all stop? All of the killing and destruction and death? Where do we start being people again?" Her voice was quite, controlled, but vehement all the same. "If we let ourselves forget what it means to be _human_ is there isn't any point in surviving this mess at all."

"We've spent so much time moving _on_, moving on from tragedies and failures. But when will we decide to stop moving _on_, and start moving _forward_." She glared at the rest of the group defiantly.

"We'll stop, when we know we're finally safe." Takashi said, through the whole in the roof.

"When we're finally _safe_," Rei parroted. "We all trust you to keep us alive Takashi, but _safe_? Even before _they_ appeared, hundreds of people still died every day. There's no such thing as _safe_ anymore, even if it did exist once." She let out a sigh, "One day, we'll have to stop running. One day, we'll have to start looking to the future, instead of just living in the present."

It was Yukiko, hugging her little brother close, who spoke next. "I always wanted to raise a family." She admitted quietly. "And as crazy as it sounds, that dream hasn't changed. I want to be able to call myself a mother. But all the same, we have to be realistic, don't we?" She let out a small sigh. "After all, _one day_ can be a long ways off."

"An awfully long way off isn't it." Rei continued, "I'm not saying we should set up shop in the nearest convenience store, or start planting crops in the next open field we come across. But we can't always be focused on _now._"

"Sometimes, we must think about tomorrow as well." Saeko finished. The rest of the group nodded mutely, Rei's words striking a chord with them all.

Takashi, though he listened carefully, remained on top of the car. Rei was right, of course. Eventually they would need a place to call home, or at least a place they could return to if they ran into trouble. But all the same, _children_? Yukiko hadn't brought up that absurd wish when they first met. Raising children in this hell...

Yet if they were to survive, such a thing was necessary, as fundamentally important as a sustainable food source. Funny how it'd slipped his mind all this time.

Tomorrow was always an eternity away, despite what the girls said. And it was his job to plan for it. Takashi's hand tightened into a fist.

Slowly he let his tawny eyes drift shut- *CRASH*  
>Takeshi jerked wildly, latching onto the roof as the humvee screeched to a stop, eyes widening at the sight of the overturned bus that had been tipped into the road before them.<p>

*CRASH* Behind them, a makeshift barricade struck the ground as well, cutting off the road completely. Rika's motorcycle fishtailed as she tried to bring it to a stop before it collided with the bus. The S.A.T was forced to leap from the bike to save herself, landing heavily on the hard pavement and rolling until she smacked against another abandoned car with a loud 'Crack!'. Then, silence.

After a moment's pause, Takashi leapt from the humvee and dashed to Rika's side, only to freeze when the pavement in front of him exploded at the sound of a gunshot.

"That's far enough, wise guy!" A voice shouted, the speaker safely out of sight. "Right now, I'm calling the shots! You don't get to help your lady friend unless you do exactly as I say!" Takashi's eyes flicked left and right, searching for the sniper. Then his eyes widened as more than a dozen people, armed with everything from guns to battered two by fours, appeared from houses all around the street. "You put that shotgun down NOW! Or else my boys'll light up your whole convoy and beat your ass into the ground!" A single man walked towards Takashi and placed a revolver up against Rika's head and pulled back the hammer.

Wordlessly, Takashi let his Ithaca fall to the ground.

"Now everybody out of the jeep with your hands in the air! No funny business, unless you want two less mouths to feed!"

Nobody moved.

Slowly, Takashi turned around to face the rest of his family. He could see most of them through the windshield, fear apparent on their faces. Slowly Takashi shrugged his shoulders, his eyes glancing past the humvee to the ramshackle wooden barricade behind it. They could shatter it. With the humvee's monster of an engine the poorly constructed wood didn't stand a chance, and the rest of the group would get away safely.

It would only cost them two lives.

"Oi! I said get out of the car NOW! Don't play deaf or this asshole is gonna get it!"

Takashi jerked his chin towards the barricade, _go!_ Chances were that they'd be killed either way. The only hope was the rest of his family to escape, to run and live another day. The end of the world was no place for heroics.

In the humvee, he saw Saya gulp, Rei's eyes widen, Hirano's gaze narrow. Shizuka shook her head slowly, unwilling to sacrifice their fearless leader. But before he could gesture again one of the survivors behind Takashi swept him off his feet with a baseball bat.

Takashi gasped as he hit the pavement. He struggled as another man grabbed him in a choke hold and pressed switchblade against his throat, hauling him into a sitting position for his family to see. The voice shouted again "You have FIVE SECONDS to get the FUCK out of that car! LAST CHANCE MOTHER FUCKERS!"

The blade pricked Takashi's skin, a thin trail of blood began to flow.  
>"FIVE! FOUR!"<br>He glared at Shizuka, as if to say _get out of here now!_, but the nurse seemed frozen in place.  
>"THREE!"<br>Rei made a grab for the door, only to be stopped by Hirano as he met Takashi's gaze with resolve.  
>"<em>TWO!"<em>  
>Rei was screaming now. Thrashing violently, but Saya and Khota wrestled her to the floor.<p>

"_ONE!"_

"Enough!" The humvee's door slammed open and Takashi's eyes widened in surprise as _Saeko _stepped out onto the cracked pavement. She strode confidently towards Takashi, her katana slipping from its sheath with a sinister hiss. "Unhand him," She told the man restraining her love, "or you will die." The aura surrounding her was violent and strong, as if she stood in the center of a hurricane. Her bearing, her resolve, made the rest of the world stand still as the unfortunate survivor stared into Saeko's cold amethyst eyes and saw his doom reflected back at him.

The man couldn't let Komuro go fast enough.

"Takashi!" Rei jumped from the humvee and rushed to his side, pulling him to his feet and holding him close as she glared at the ring of survivor around them. Saeko stood at her side, impassive, but with the fury of kami lurking just beneath the surface. Even the voice was silent beneath her gaze.

Gently, Saeko motioned for the rest of their family to get out of the car. "I will not let you sacrifice yourself for me, Takashi." She whispered. The rest of the group, even Yukiko and Isou, made their way over to Takashi without comment. Saya walked right up to the fearless leader and slapped him across the face. Hard.

"Don't you _dare_ pull a stunt like that again." She hissed before turning to glare at the survivors. "So!" She called loudly, "What happens now?"

"Now," The voice called back, "You put your weapons on the ground, and follow us." And so they did.

Their captors led them onto a small side street to put some distance between them and the humvee while the other survivors made sure to lock up the car so the rest of the supplies wouldn't be stolen. Komuro and Co. were even allowed to keep their equipment, sans weapons. Though, the 'voice' (a tall man in his early thirties) took the jeep's keys from Shizuka.

Before they set off, however, Shizuka was allowed to give Rika some basic first aid, splinting her broken arm and giving the sniper some pain killers to help Rika get back to her feet. The soldier was pretty beat up, but with an arm over Takashi's shoulder she could walk well enough. They were kept surrounded after setting off, yet their captors let them travel unmolested through the streets towards whatever goal the leader had in mind.

Any encounters with _them_ were handled with brutal efficiency, and in less than half an hour the whole group arrived at a tall office building next to a small park. The building was separated from the rest of the block by slightly larger than normal streets, giving it a commanding view of the surroundings. This, coupled with the fact that towered over the smaller houses that surrounded it, made the complex into one of the most viable holdouts for miles.

Two more men and a woman, armed with crowbars and a fire axe respectively, greeted the larger group at the doors. The supplies everyone had managed to carry were locked into a back room while Takashi and Co. were lead up the stairs to the seventh floor before exiting the stairwell into a large room. Most of the cubicles in the area had been struck down, leaving a large open space in where nearly a dozen people rested, talking quietly, sleeping, leaning against wall and reading goddamn _books_. The captives froze on the spot at the sight. Even Takashi could only stare in surprise at so many living people. An actual group of _survivors_! And with organization rivaling Takagi-sama's operation to boot.

Then the man leading them turned to face Takashi. "I'm guessing you're the leader." He said, "Come with me. I have someone who will want to talk to you," He frowned at Takashi slightly, as if daring him to question the order.

Takashi simply glared back, "I'm not leaving the rest of my group behind. You just carjacked us, do you seriously think I'm gonna roll over and do what you tell me to?"

"You don't need to worry about them." The man replied firmly, "We won't harm them as long as you co-operate. Look around kid, we aren't a bunch of crazies here, we're a _community_."

Takashi was struck by the man's words. It was true after all, the dozen or so men and women in the room all looked relatively content, calm even despite the what the world had become. In the corner he could even see a mother caring for her baby next to a man Takashi could only guess was the father. It was smaller than Takagi manor yes, but not only was it just as organized, this group appeared inherently more stable than the manor refugee camp had been. Unlike the adults clinging feebly to the remnants of a dead world like those under Takagi-sama's care, these people seemed at peace with the new world. They were tired, yes, but determined to survive. And in this place they were _safe_ from the outside world.

Takashi sighed, unable to argue with the stability around him. "Lead the way then." Turning back to his family he added, "Stay safe you guys. I'll go see what they want with us."

The man nodded with approval "This way then. My name's Takehito, by the way." Takashi nodded and followed the other many further into the room. Takehito paused and stopped another man exciting a second stairwell "Do you know where Shibata-sama is, Daisuke?" He asked.

Daisuke nodded, "Fifteenth floor last I saw. She's communicating with one of the other groups." Takehito beckoned to Takashi, and the two continued up the stairwell quickly.

At the fifteenth floor, Takehito quickly moved towards the southern wall of the building, looking, apparently for this 'Shibata-sama'. Takashi wasn't sure what to think of someone who called himself 'sama', in his mind that person would be hard pressed to live up to a title carried by Saya's father. But all the same it only took a few more minutes to locate the person. Takehito motioned for Takashi to remain outside one of the C.E.O. offices on the edge of the floor, before knocking gently on the door.

"Shibata-sama," He called as he entered the room, "I have located a-" At that point the thick door thudded to a close, blocking out the rest of the conversation. Takashi stood awkwardly outside the door, blinking at how the man had suddenly left him there. For a moment he was sorely tempted to walk away, but then Takehito opened the door again "Shibata-sama will see you now."

"Ah," Takashi nodded and entered the room even as Takehito exited and left Takashi alone with in the room with a young woman, in her late twenties at the oldest. She regarded Takashi calmly as he stepped into the room from where she sat behind a large mahogany desk.

Takashi blinked, "_You're _'Shibata-sama'?!" The woman chuckled lightly at his outburst, but did not reply, instead choosing to continue studying the young man before her.

Shibata, if this woman really was 'Shibata', had silky ebon hair braided neatly down her back that enhanced the vibrant blue of her eyes. She was statuesque, from what Takashi could see, and wore the midnight blue kimono wrapped around her shoulders like she'd been born in it. Even though she was sitting, Takashi noticed her poise and unconscious grace and wondered briefly if she had been a dancer, for she was thin, yet her limbs appeared strong. With a start, he realized that this woman reminded him of Saeko.

"What is your name?" The woman asked suddenly. Her voice betrayed nothing, neither anger nor happiness, pleasure nor distaste.

Takashi drew himself back together, letting the confidence of a the natural born leader he was slide over him. "I am Komuro Takashi, _Hagimemashite_. May I enquire your name?"

"Shibata Kameko. Though most do call me 'Shibata-sama' as you said." Takashi had to stop himself from blushing at the verbal jab. "So Komuro-san," The woman continued. "Takehito-kun has told me a bit about you and your friends. From what I've heard, I am rather impressed with your achievements. Though I do wonder how you have managed to find so many powerful firearms, considering that many of them were illegal before the beginning of this outbreak."

"Luck of the draw, Shibata-san" He refused to address her as 'sama', his respect will have to be earned. "One of our friends was part of the S.D.F. and we were able to pick up their equipment before everything was shot to hell."

Shibata nodded, "You've also managed to stockpile a large amount of supplies and.. camping gear?"

"We were planning on leaving the city behind. Maybe seeking refuge in the mountains or on the island airport off the coast." Takashi didn't see much of a point in being opaque with this woman. She held all the cards in this circumstance. "It seemed like the best option at the time."

"Yes, I can see why you would want to escape from the city." Shibata rose from her chair. She was tall and well endowed, just as Takashi had guessed, but he didn't really care about such observations at this point. He was far more interesting in what this woman had to say. "But perhaps, I could prevail upon you and yours to remain here with my own _family." _

"The world as we knew it has ceased to exist, Komuro-san. I am trying to pick up the pieces, so that something other than these walking monstrosities may live to inherit this land. I wish to ensure the survival of humanity, or, at least, as much of it as I can reach and it is my most fervent desire to see a new, brighter, world reborn in the ashes of the old." She eyed him seriously, "I can see how accomplished you are, Komuro, from what you have achieved on your own. So I ask you to consider what you could do with the resources around you, what you could do with _my _aid."

Takashi was silent for a moment, swept up by Shibata's speech, brief though it was. Hearing her speak of the rebirth of the world, Takashi could almost believe that such a thing was not only possible, but within reach if he joined his abilities with hers. But he had more pressing concerns than the world. "And what about my friends, what do you intend to do with me and _mine_, Shibata-san?"

Shibata smiled, "I _intend _to offer you a place to stay, somewhere you can return and know that safety will be waiting for you. A place you can call your _own._ But that is not all I can give you Komuro. In this new and darker world, I need people around me who can capably lead, who can keep their heads in a crisis and, when presented with difficult options, can make the best choice. Should you prove to be one of these people, then I will off you more than just a _home_, I will offer you a _legacy_, a place at my side as I begin to rebuild and move onward into a new age. I can see the fire of determination in your eyes. And if you stand with me, I will not have to offer anything to your family, for _you_ will be able to provide for them by your own power."

"Not only for their needs, Komuro-san, but for their wants as well. Join with me and _I_ can give you a place for the child in your care to grow up without fear, without danger.But if you join with me then _you_ can give that child a home worth living in, filled with love and warmth. Join with me and you can _provide_ for those in your care like a man should. You will no longer be confined to only keeping them _safe_; stand by my side and you can make them _happy_. In a world like this, is happiness small a reward in exchange for your loyalty?"

"You offer all of these things, Shibata-san," Komuro shot back. He was impressed by her speech, on the verge of throwing his lot with her if only because she offered him something a million times better than the horrors of the world outside, but he had one last question to ask all the same. Komuro had grown wiser in his time as a survivor. His loyalty, as Shibata had put it, could not be bought with pretty words. "How can I be sure you'll actually do what you're saying?"

"Ask." Was his answer. "I have made the same promises to all those within my care. Do they seem dissatisfied with what I have provided? Disenfranchised by the sanctity of my oaths? Ask those that I lead, Komuro, and then you may determine for yourself if my offer is worth the price I ask you to pay."

"My _loyalty_."

Shibata nodded. "In a would such as this, loyalty is indeed a steep price pay. But I do not ask you to make this sacrifice for nothing, nor do I ask for your aid lightly."

"We live in dangerous times Komuro-san. I know that I'm asking you to take a gamble on my behalf. Yet if you but give me chance, I will make good on everything I have offered you. I will restore this world from its dying embers, but I would do so with your help, rather than without it."

Komuro glanced down at the floor. He felt numb, almost, humbled by her words. All this time he'd been completely focused on simply surviving. Yet this woman strived for so much more "I will need time to consider your offer, Shibata-san." Was all he could say.

_She was impossible charismatic, powerful like the light of the sun after emerging from darkness. By the conviction of her voice, by the strength of her words, I was tempted to join her group then and there. She wasn't offering my empty promises, I could tell that by the fire in her eyes. She wasn't offering simply a home either, not just a place for us to live safely, for Alice to grow up in.  
>She was offering me a second chance. A chance at salvation and redemption and a million other things besides. Though at times I feel like a fool for being taking in so easily by her words, if anyone else had been standing in my place, Shibata would have convinced them too. I don't doubt that for a second. It was just how she <em>was. _You couldn't stand against her point of view: regardless of what she wanted, regardless of how you felt it beforehand. Because when Shibata spoke... _

_You could only let yourself be carried along for the ride._

**High School of the Dead  
>The good, the bad, and the DEAD<strong>

1) Hokkaido- the northernmost of Japan's four home islands. If you would believe it, I googled 'Onbetsu' (the only name the screen writers give us) and found out it was a rather large town on Hokkaido. Not sure if that's where H.O.T.D. actually takes place, but meh.

Some notes on Shibata Kameko. She is an OC of my own creation. But don't worry she's probably the only important OC that will be popping up for this arc, and for the rest of the story in all likelihood. Though I do seem to be introducing a lot of new characters lately (Shrugs his shoulders). But even though Shibata is my own creation, she is based rather loosely off a character from "Forward unto Dawn" By bleedndreamz. He didn't use the character much in his story, but the idea of this charismatic female leader at the head of a large group of survivors still fascinated me enough to adapt it into my own story. If you've read Forward unto Dawn, then you probably know who I'm talking about, but rest assured I don't plan to bastardize bleedn's unused plans for the character, I've got my own set of machinations when it comes to Shibata.

Though right now she's just a convenient way to keep Takashi and the gang inside the city longer...

Thoughts, Questions, Concerns? Send me a review or a PM. I know I don't really respond to most reviews (sorry about that, I'm a bit lazy in case you haven't already guessed) but I always make a point to answer direct questions and critiques of my writing style, both of which are important to me if I want to improve how I write.

Other than that I just apologize for the length of time I was inactive, I just wanted to take a break from writing and recover some. Now that I'm back into it everything just seems to flow easier. If, only I could manage to figure out the next chapter of Cold Summer, Christ that story is a pain to pull together :/

But enough ranting. Thanks to all of my reader that stuck with this story despite everything, please drop a review if you want me to clarify anything. And I would really appreciate any sort of analysis of my work, those are always my favorite reviews to read.

Though in my case, beggars can't be choosers. :)


	9. Living, or DEAD?

Right, here's the new chapter, sorry I've been gone for so long. Though those of you who read my stories probably aren't _that_ surprised by my leave of absence.  
>Anyway, I've been working on this story a bit every day (that and one other story which I have yet to publish) so there shouldn't be another month long wait for the next chapter. I'm leaving on a short vacation next week, so I'll try and get chapter 10 out before that, but it might be a bit on the short side because of it.<p>

This chapters is the first one in the 'Shibata' arc. It'll be 3-5 chapters long, depending on how much I cram in to each of the following chapters.

And so,

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<br>Living or DEAD?**

_What is the price of salvation?  
>No, I'm not making any sense. Let me put it this way, if you weighed your life against your freedom on a scale, which one is worth more in the end? Which one would you sacrifice for the other?<br>It's a harder question then it sounds, partly because 'survival' in general is not guaranteed no matter what choices you make. Not in this world. So should you always choose freedom? Even if giving it up would increase your chances of living?_

_Is a bird in the hand really worth two in the bush?_

**_1000 Suns_**

Takashi was escorted down to the third floor after his meeting with Shibata, his mind tumbling over itself, tossing questions without answers back and forth. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he barely noticed when he reached his family.

They had been waiting for him in a small alcove-like room on the third floor. There were two burly men with aluminum bats standing in front of the door, but Takashi got the feeling that they were only there as a formality. One of them even nodded to Takashi as he entered the room. He nodded back distractedly. He managed a hello and a smile to his family, but clearly his mind was on other things.

Takagi snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Well fearless leader, what's the verdict?"

"Ah," Takashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "They want us to join them... this Shibata, offered us a place to stay as long as we obey her 'rules'. She even said that I might end up in a position of leadership. And if we don't want to stay they'll let us leave." He replied, "She was very... charismatic.

Isou cocked an eyebrow, "Wait, 'she?' this Shibata person everyone seems to worship is a girl?"

Takagi bopped him over the head, "What's that supposed to mean, baka?"

"Ahaha, sorry."

"In any case," Saya continued, "I doubt that we can just up and leave with no strings attached. But after what happened at... my house... I'm not especially eager to join another group for shits and giggles. We're doing well enough on our own."

Rei nodded, "I managed to talk to some of the people here before the guards threw us in this room. Apparently, if you want to leave you have to pay a 'departure fee' or something. We'd have to give up something we came here before they'd let us out."

"The humvee,"

"Probably."

Takashi sighed, "Nothing's ever easy." He murmured, "So it looks like we have to stick around for a little while, if they take the jeep there's no way we can carry all of our camping supplies. And giving up those or our guns instead isn't a good option either"

"What a remarkable scam," Saya remarked. "They make it look like we can leave whenever we wish, but bleed us dry if we actually choose to go our own way. Are we just going to roll over and let them do what they want?"

Takashi shook his head, "I never said we'd let them have their way, but for now, it's getting dark and needed a place to sleep regardless. Plus, we're outnumbered, out gunned, and they're watching us like hawks." He frowned. Getting out of Shibata's high rise at all would be practically impossible. Even from one meeting he could tell that she was impeccably organized, and he'd seen several guards in the stairwell on the way down. Without a doubt Rika's guns and Saeko's katana would be protected as well, so getting their weapons back to begin with be a pain in and of itself.

Summary: They were screwed.

"Umm" Yukiko raised her hand timidly. "Why do we have to leave at all? I mean, it's safe here, and they'll only take away our stuff if we go. Everybody seems happier here... and," She glanced at Shin and the rest went unsaid, _and maybe my little brother might actually survive._

Takashi shrugged, "Like I said, we just have to wait and see. I don't know what to think about this place, it just seems..."

"To good to be true?" Rei supplied glumly. "If they have such a nice setup here, why didn't they join up with other survivors, why haven't they tried to get out of the city?" So they were all a bit jaded and cynical after all they'd seen. Is that really such a surprise?

"They want our cooperation? They'll have to earn it." Takashi said. "But for now, let's not debate it anymore. It'll be more trouble than it's worth to try and leave right away, so for now we just have to stick around. I'll tell Shibata in the morning. For now, let's just catch some sleep, I have first watch." It went without saying that Takashi and the others would still set watches throughout the night. Even though they were off the streets they weren't quite _safe._

The rest of the group spread out around the small room, lying down in clumps: Shizuka with Alice, Rei next to Yukiko and Shin, Saeko sitting gracefully with her back to a wall. Takashi, for his part, remained standing a while longer. This was the time of day that he organized his thoughts and looked back over his successes and failures. He usually took first watch so he would have time to sort out his emotions and still recover a bit before the next morning.

Today, his family had been captured by another group of survivors and all of their weapons and supplies had be taken. The only reason they were still alive was because it was never their captors intention to do them harm. Not to mention Saeko's last minute intervention. If she hadn't stepped in when she did Takashi would have been a killed. He rubbed his neck gratefully. Other than that though, the day had been no better or worse than any other. They'd had their goals delayed yet again, but that was nothing new.

So, at most, it might take his family another week to get out of the city. At best they'd have found a permanent home. Takashi wouldn't get his hopes up.

The rest of his watch passed uneventfully, and he woke Hirano a few hours into the night before laying down and falling asleep himself. Eventually, the entire building grew quite as all of its inhabitants called it a day. Watches changed several times throughout the night, but dawn came uneventfully for everyone in the building. A new day beginning no better or worse than any other.

Of Takashi's family, Rei was the first to awake. She yawed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she sat up. There wasn't much primping to be done after a night of sleeping on the floor, but at least Rei tried to get her hair into a manageable state. Her two 'antennas' just popped up and stayed there regardless.

Looking over the rest of the group Rei frowned when she saw that Komuro was sleeping next to Saeko. They were on the other side of the room as her, and though there was nothing compromising about their position, she was still hurt that Takashi continued to pick the swordswoman over her. Rei had sworn to stay by his side no matter what, as girly and sappy as it sounded, but all the same it was painful to see him with someone else.

She wasn't some innocent school girl anymore, if that's what came, if he really did choose Saeko over her, then she would just have to accept it.

That didn't mean she had to let it happen quietly.

Crawling over to Takashi, she brushed his bangs out of his eyes and caressed his cheek softly. He began mumbling in his sleep, eyes scrunching as he began to wake up. Rei blushed as she contemplated what she was about to do, but leaned down all the same, and placed a tender kiss on Takashi's lips. "Good morning, love," She whispered.

"Rei?" Takashi, finally awake gazed up at her in surprise. His cheeks were tinged slightly red and eyes smoky, which Rei found adorable, _not to mention downright sexy_, and she kissed him once more before standing up and smirking conspiratorially at him. She placed one finger on her lips in a shushing motion. _Let's just keep this to ourselves._

Takashi glanced away, "Rei..." His eyes moved to Saeko, still sleeping by his side.

Rei frowned, but all the same she took his hands in her own. "I told you didn't I? Even if you pick her over me, I'll still be here, I'll stay by your side every step of the way."

Takashi didn't even try to deny it. He knew that she wouldn't accept any excuses he could come up with anyway. "You deserve better than that, Rei," He murmured.

"I'll choose what I deserve," She shot back with a smile. It was a sad smile, the kind of resigned smile that you wore when you knew that you had lost, but were going to keep fighting all the same.

Takashi sighed and stood up. He helped Rei to her feet, but instead of another kiss like she wanted, he said "We should wake the others." Rei nodded glumly.

It did hurt, to be glossed over, especially in Takashi's heart. But she would keep trying for a while longer. She wouldn't give up so easily this time.

Takashi pushed Rei from his mind as he woke the rest of the group. As harsh as it sounded, he couldn't spare the time to resolve his issues with his girls right now. Saeko, Rei. Rei, Saeko. It was just too confusing to deal with at the moment. He had to deal with Shibata.

And, if he were to be perfectly honest with himself, he still didn't know what to do. Those stolen moments with Saeko were like breath, he needed them. But waking up with Rei, framed by the morning sunlight like an angel, for a moment he thought...

Takashi swore to himself. And now he sounded like a fucking pansy, or one of those stupid harem anime protagonists, unable to pick a girl and leading them all on like a heartless bastard.

He shook his head, now was not the time to deal with this. He looked over his family, making sure his gaze didn't linger on Rei _or_ Saeko. "I'll give Shibata our choice now, unless anyone has something new to add, we're going to stick around for the time being."

Yukiko glared at Saya when the pinkette opened her mouth. Saya glanced away, "What? I was just gonna tell him to get our weapons back, and Shizuka's magic bag..." Takashi chuckled.

He opened the door to his room, noticing that two different guards were outside this time, he nodded to them.

"Ready to see Shibata-sama?"

'"Un, we've decided."

The man nodded and lead Takashi to the stairwell while the other guard remained behind. Insurance to make sure the rest of his group didn't try anything, he supposed. It was a quick trip up the stairs to Shibata's office.

Shibata regarded him with a cool smile as he entered, as if to say _well_? She had been pouring over a map of the city a few moments prior, and seemed content to return to her task until Takashi said something. Takashi shook his head at the oddity of it, most people would consider her actions rude, he saw them as pragmatic, why waste time on some random highschool kid like him?

Well, might as well bite the bullet, "We've decided that we would like to remain with your group." Takashi stated, "But, I have to ask you to return at least some of our weapons to us alone with our medical supplies, for the girls safety if nothing else."

Shibata raised an eyebrow at him, "You've only just accepted my offer, and already you're making demands?" She seemed more amuses than anything else by his straightforwardness.

"I have to put the safety of my family first. I'm sure you understand,"

"Of course," Shibata replied with a smile, "But I'm sure you understand why I'm hesitant to give a group of newcomers back their firearms, especially since the most my men have are pistols. In time, I do hope that such a precautions will be unnecessary, but for now I cannot abide by your request."

Takashi crossed his arms as the woman continued. "As for the safety of your girls, I'll have my trusted guards accompany them around for a bit, until they settle in with the rest of my group. That will be enough to make sure nothing untoward occurs."

"At the very least, please return Saeko's katana. Its safekeeping is her responsibility" Takashi shot back, "and I would rest easier knowing that, worst comes worst, at least one of my group and defend themselves."

"Oh? You don't want your own weapons returned so you can protect them?"

Takashi glanced away briefly, "I assumed that you'd probably want me and Hirano out in the city, considering that we're the best marksmen. I'm sure you have patrols and other things set up, there's no way the group that captured us yesterday left the high-rise just to corner us at that chokepoint. But even still, I'd prefer it if Saeko's katana was back in her hands. It holds a lot of... sentimental value to all of us."

"I see," Shibata steepled her fingers. "You were correct in her assumption, observant of you to make that connection."

Takashi shrugged, "I'm the leader, it's my job to think."

She smiled, "Be that as it may, I believe we can come to an agreement. I will return this 'Saeko's' katana to her. In return, I would like you and Hirano- the boy in the military jacket yes?- to take part in two separate patrols of the area to gather additional supplies and the like."

"I would prefer if he and I could remain together."

"You have to give a little to get a little, Komuro-san. I wish to see how each of your group performs individually, though I may choose to put you all into the same 'squad'" She made quotation marks with her fingers, "once you all prove yourselves trustworthy."

"This seems to be happening awfully fast, Shibata-san," Takashi replied.

She just shook her head and glanced back towards the map, "There isn't time for probation or relaxation or any other sort of needless dilly-dallying. I have to provide for everyone in this building: guards, scavengers, mothers, and children alike. If you and yours are willing to be useful, then I don't have the time or the inclination to waste your aid."

Takashi nodded in understanding. Even though his group was much smaller by comparison, he knew all about never having enough time. "I'll make sure you aren't disappointed then."

Shibata smirked at him, "You do that. I love it when people live up to my expectations,"

"When to Hirano and I leave?"

"Soon, I'll have Yamato tell you where to be." Takashi nodded. "You'll be given weapons, of course, but for now don't expect to get your shot gun back."

Takashi returned to his group to tell Khota what the plan was. The others were worried, of course, but unsurprised at the development. Saeko and Rei both told him to be safe, and no one said goodbye. It was all, "see you in a bit," and "come back in one piece." Saya was the most vocal, as usual.

"That's stupid." She grumbled, "Any _competent _leader, would know that you'd do best with your own god damned group, not a bunch of Rambo wannabes that she's likely to send you off with."

Takashi had chuckled at that, and promised to stay safe as he and Hirano departed with a young man named Yamato who would lead them to their squads. Patrol would last for a few hours. It was eightish now, and Yamato said that all the morning patrols should be back before noon.

The rest of the group was more or less given free rein of the complex. They weren't allowed to go to the lobby or any of the storage areas above the twentieth floor, but other than that they could do what they pleased. An older woman had given them a list of tasks that they had to complete before the end of the day -Rei was conscripted to kitchen duty, much to Saya's amusement- rather ordinary chores like gathering up all the garbage and getting it ready to be thrown out. Saeko offered to take that one.

Saya, for her part, wandered through the office building and found different people to talk with. Many of the people there were suspicious of newcomers, or just unfriendly in general, but she found a few that she could talk with.

"Everyone has jobs to do every day," One woman told her, "If you don't do them you don't get to eat, and Shibata-sama had to banish a few people early one who refused to do anything." Other than those noncompliant few, Saya gathered that everyone else did their jobs, usually jobs were assigned to groups of people (presumably those who had arrived together) and they were allowed to divvy up the work as they so desired. The one mother in the building, whom Saya had seen on the first day, wasn't required to do much of anything. A little bit of laundry along with some teaching and looking after a few of the younger kids for an hour or two each day. It seemed that Shibata took motherhood seriously.

One thing Saya couldn't understand, however, was why everyone addressed Shibata as 'sama'. Saya's father had been know as Takagi-sama, but that was because he was a powerful politician and the Takagi family could trace its lineage back to feudal Japan. For all intents and purposes, her father really was a lord. Shibata held no such distinction.

"In all likelihood, the others call her that because of what she did after the world went to hell," Saeko had said.

"It still doesn't make sense," Saya shot back, "I mean, we don't call Takashi 'Takashi-sama' or any of that bullshit. And she's not a freaky wannabe cult leader like Shido as far as I can tell. It would make sense if a few of her more zealous 'followers' called her that, but everyone in the whole building?"

"Peer pressure is a powerful force. It is not all that surprising from my point of view."

"Yeah, well I just don't get it. I haven't seen this lady do anything other than kidnap people and designate patrols."

Saeko nodded, "It is a bit odd, but I believe the reason she is so respected will become clear in time." Saya just grumbled at the swordswoman's reply, she hated not knowing things.

It wasn't until about eleven that something interesting happened. The only reason Saya even noticed it was because she was gazing disinterestedly out a fifth story window. About a block away, she saw another group get captured much the same way they had been yesterday. Only this time, the people had decided to resist.

It couldn't even be called a fight.

The moment on of the survivors pulled out his pistol, Shibata's men opened fire. The other group was shredded in seconds. And Saya could only stare in fury as one of Shibata's men used _her_ Luger, the one her _mother _had given to her, to execute the last one standing.

It was hard to be sure at this distance, but she swore that they were laughing as they looted the bodies.

"Why am I not surprised." Saya murmured to herself. Outside the window she could see one of the men kicking a corpse a few times for the heck of it. _So everything isn't hunky dory here after all_...

As she said, Saya was not surprised by the brutality of Shibata's scavengers. Anyone and everyone who had survived this long were bound to develop a few mental... quirks... even if they didn't go off their rocker. She could already see signs of impending mental breakdown in herself and was worried about Takashi's most recent mood swings, but she felt they could all hold out for at least a while longer. So it really didn't bother or unnerve her that some of the others Shibata had recruited were unstable as well.

But it did prove that Shibata's little refuge in the city wasn't nearly as perfect as the woman made it out to be. A little while after Takashi and Khota had left Shibata came and returned Saeko's katana, stating how Komuro wanted his group to have some protection, and she'd given them the rundown on how her little 'community' (she was very fond of that word) worked.

Hearing it from her one would almost believe that Shibata had created a utopian society without any sort of crime and where everyone was provided for. Saya though that Shibata just had any criminals or dissidents executed or banished. But even without the little display going on a block away Saya had already noticed that the real way of things in the office building was much more opaque, and probably quite a bit darker.

For one, Shibata always made a point to make quick rounds of the building and talk to everyone. Saya admitted that being in touch with one's followers was a good trait of any leader, but Saya also noted that certain people became still and quiet when Shibata entered the room. They were the ones that never approached the woman and instead lingered on the fringes of the room or slipped out of it as quickly as possible.

Most of those people were women or teenage girls, and there were seven of them.

They did a good job of hiding it, but Saya could tell that those seven people, six women and one man, more or less shit their pants whenever Shibata entered the room. So _obviously_ there was something going on underneath the surface. Now if only Saya could figure out what.

Meanwhile, while Saya was looking for conspiracy theories and sinister plots in Shibata's apartment complex, Komuro's group was doing something interesting too.

_They look like a family_, Takashi noted, two parents in their forties, a fifteen or sixteen year old kid, and his grandmother.

"Just relax and put the weapons down," Takashi said. His voice was remarkably calm for having a pistol aimed at his head. "These people really don't want to hurt you, they picked me and my group up the other day and offered us a place to stay. They offered us _safety_."

The leader of Takashi's group had left the 'recruitment' pitch to him, wanting to see how well a supposed leader handled himself in a stressful situation. So far, Takashi could see that the family in front of him was wavering, he had done a good job of convincing them. Right now, they were still skeptical, as evidenced by the gun pointed at him, but he knew they _wanted_ to believe him.

"How the fuck do we know you're telling the truth?" The kid, also the one with the pistol replied. He was acting all pissed off, "You fuckers have us surrounded!"

Takashi just sighed. "Look around you. This isn't really Japan anymore, not the place where you can count on everyone to be helpful and polite. How did _we _know that you wouldn't shoot first and ask questions later?" Takashi leveled regarded the boy seriously, "I _don't _have any real way to prove what I'm saying. How am I supposed to show that I was ambushed yesterday, pull out a video camera? All you have to go on is my word. That's the world we live in now. So, I guess what it comes down to is this; are you will to take to risk and except me at face value?"

"Will you take a chance, and come with me?"

For a second the tense silence lingered in the air, and, for a second, Takashi thought the kid was gonna pull the trigger and try to end him.

Then his father placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"We'll take that chance," The man said. Takashi knew the look in his eyes right then. It was the look of someone ready to die, ready to put his life on the line, for so that his family would survive. The teen looked at his dad for a second, then lowered the gun.

**_1000 Suns_**

_In the end, I'm still not sure about Shibata. I'm still not sure I made the right choice. Hell if we really wanted to, Saeko and I could have taken down the guards, we could have snatched our stuff back, and run during the night. We might have gotten away with a few backpacks (not to mention one or two of us probably would have died), but we would have been free._

_But would that have been the right choice either? I don't know, I don't know if I ever will know.  
>And That's nothing new. So, for now, we just keep on living, day by day, hour by hour. And I'll pray to Kami that I didn't condemn these people to some terrible fate by having them join Shibata. All I know is, if push comes to shove, my family will probably suffer the same fate as these poor souls.<em>

_You're never _really_ free in this world._

**High School of The DEAD  
>Living, or DEAD?<strong>


	10. DEAD Space

Okay, this chapter... I'm not gonna lie. It's too short, and I've been gone for too long with no good reason.

I hated writing this chapter. I really should have tacked this on to the end of the last one, and I waited to long to get moving on this chapter again. It just burned out. So, I decided to post what I've got, all 1000 pitiful words. And get on with the next chapter.

This is the first time I've felt dissatisfied with a chapter, utterly, totally dissatisfied. I tried, but I just can't force this. So I'm posting it, and considering it an addendum to chapter 9.

Actually, the title of this chapter is a testament to how terrible it felt for me.

Hopefully I can do better next time :/

* * *

><p><strong>9.5 DEAD space.<strong>

Shibata was in her office, looking over a list of looted items.

Several of her scavenger groups had returned early and now it fell to her to determine what was useful and what was garbage. As always, it amazed her the amount of useless scrap her boys picked up out in the city. Digital cameras, paper money, jewelry, all of it was worthless trash in this world.

A sedate knock on the door drew Shibata's attention for the moment. "Enter," She commanded, and Takehata, one of her lieutenants, entered the office.

"Group seven managed to pick up some more strays, Shibata-sama." He reported. Seven, the group she had put that lovely boy Komuro on. "They are awaiting orders."

"Situation?"

"Group seven is a few miles southwest of here, the group they picked up consists of a small family, a teenager, a middle aged man and woman, and an old lady."

Shibata sighed, "Standard procedure then, I won't add any useless mouths to my community."

Takehata saluted smartly, "Hai."

Shibata shook her head after he left. A few miles huh? While it would be amusing to get out her binoculars and watch the drama unfold around group seven, she still had to sort through the newest batch of supplies. Going over the list once more she face palmed. A toaster? Honestly?

Sometimes she truly wondered about the intelligence of her species.

Shibata was from an old family, not an influential one like the Takagi, but she could trace her ancestry back to feudal Japan. Her lineage was of an old samurai clan, cold steel and court politics was in her blood. So was it really any surprise that Shibata rose to command her own little community?

It hadn't take much effort, all things told. With the world around her going to hell in a hand basket, all she had done was take little bit of bluster, a touch of confidence, a hint of a plan, and mix it all together with her natural charisma, and voila, Shibata was the queen of her own little world.

When she got right down to it, running the place was many time more difficult than setting it up in the first place, but that was burden of being a leader. She was more than willing to pay that price, after all, there were plenty of 'fringe' benefits that came from running the show.

Shibata wasn't one to delude herself. She knew, that by conventional standards, she wasn't a "good" person. But she also knew, that by conventional standards, there wasn't a single leader worth following that could be called "good". Leaders had their own scale by which they were measured. The object morality of the leader meant little in comparison to the prosperity of her people. And Shibata had ensured that her people would prosper, even in this grim hell.

She hadn't lied to Komuro-san at all. If he were willing to prove useful, then she would use him, for the good of his family as well as her own. Shibata considered everyone living in her office building to be her responsibility, regardless of their origin. And she would do her damndest to see them all survive.

Even if she had to break more than a few eggs.

* * *

><p>Takashi could barely make it out, a slight increase in brightness on the highest floor of Shibata's high-rise. It was a mirror, used to communicate between the groups far afield and their home base.<p>

So _that's _how Shibata's scavengers had ambushed his family.

In this case, however, it meant that Takashi and the rest of the group, including their three new additions, were to head back to the high-rise. They'd make it back a bit before noon, which was good. Takashi never did like leaving his family alone, especially not on someone else's orders.

The entire group traveled at a quick pace, and a few miles later the old woman began to slow down. She wasn't used to traveling so quickly, the man said, could they please slow down. Takashi frowned when the group leader refused, instead he gave them directions back to the high-rise. The teen was forced to stay with the group, but his father wasn't about to let his own mother wonder through the zombie infested city alone.

Grudgingly, the group leader returned some weapons to the man, but kept the boy and all of their supplies in order to ensure "good behavior"

Takashi grimaced at the treatment and when no one was looking he slipped the man a few energy bars and a plastic bottle of water. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, "but I can't do anything else to help. They've got the rest of my family _safe_ back at the office building." The man nodded once in understanding and gratitude.

Then, without a backwards glance, the rest of the group continued on and quickly left the straggling old woman behind.

A few minutes later the group leader sent a man back to check on the two people. Takashi found that a bit odd, after all, what was the point of leaving them behind if you were going to send people back to escort them? And it looked like a formality more than anything else, almost if the group leader only did it set the teenage boy at ease.

After that, the rest of the group continued on regardless. At their current pace, they'd reach the office building in around twenty minutes.

So imagine Takashi's surprise when the sharp retort of a gunshot shattered the air.

Izou glanced back over his shoulder and swore explosively. "Let's move! We're getting out of here now!" Everyone broke into a run, as Izou lead them onto a back road and towards the office building in the distance.

Behind them, another gunshot went off, and though it was impossible to pinpoint its direction, Takashi didn't doubt that the old lady and the man had run into some serious trouble. But they were out of his reach, he could only prey that they'd make it to safety.

Even in a state of semi-panic the group reached the office building quickly. The guards at the door let them in without comment. But before Takashi could go anywhere, Saya pulled him to the side.

"We need to talk." There was no room for argument in her tone.

Now, Takashi knew from experience that Saya, well a genius in every sense of the word, was rarely serious. It was always sarcastic remarks and backhand compliments with her, quick to anger and not all the good at holding a grudge either. Grudges took too much time to maintain, she'd said.

So Takashi knew with one look in her eyes that Saya needed to tell him something very, _very, _serious. Something that would affect their entire family whether he wanted it to or not.

Takashi followed Saya without another word. And sent up a quick prayer that this would be something he could deal with on his own.

...

"Are you sure that's what you saw?"

"Completely sure." Saya replied, "So what are we going to do about it, fearless leader?"

_I've heard that people say: "When life gives you lemons, makes lemonade."  
>I call bullshit. Your lemonade's gonna suck if Life forgot to pick up the sugar.<em>

**High School of the Dead  
>1000 Suns<strong>


	11. DEAD Man Wonderland

A big thanks to Recklessbaka and Gravenimage for reviewing last chapter. I didn't think anyone would take the time to leave a comment.

Thankfully, this chapter is actually a decent length, though I wish I could have made it a bit longer. In the end though, I decided to get to a good stopping point and go. I've been gone for too long as it is.

* * *

><p><strong>1000 Suns<br>DEAD Man Wonderland**

_What does it take to be a good person?  
>In the old world you had standards to judge by. Don't lie, don't steal, don't kill. Easy things to remember, and, for the most part, easy things to comply with too.<em>

_When you have everything you need, why steal ? When telling the truth is easiest, why lie? With law and order pervading social life, why kill? But now, now things are different. Now we have to judge people on a different scale. Being nice won't save you, telling the truth won't get you food, laying down your weapons won't protect your family._

_I've done terrible things to survive as well, we all have._

Seven people sat in a room, the children were elsewhere, sleeping. It was dark outside, with the crescent moon hanging low overhead, and the interior of the room was cast in shadow. The occupants of the room, though young, were all jaded adults, they had seen far too much.

One of them, Saya, was talking.

"... Then, after the group was a few turns ahead and out of sight, they took a left turn, right here." She pointed to a map open on the floor. "The old lady and the man who was with her took a right turn _here_, half a block later. After that, the stumbled into a group of _them_.

Surprisingly convenient, isn't it?

Those two would have been fine on their own, they were smart. None of _them_ noticed the two living people in the area. Except that the group leader, Izou, sent one of his men back to check on them. Now, if the two had just taken a wrong turn, the man wouldn't have found them. But he knew _exactly_ where they were. He didn't backtrack at all, he took a shortcut."

Saya took a breath, "And he took the first shot. I'm sure you all can guess what happened next."

Then the room faded into silence.

Takashi spoke next. "There's no way Shibata wouldn't have known about that."

"How'd you figure that?"

"That's just the way she is." Takashi shrugged, "I can't give you anything more definite than a gut feeling, but I'm sure about it."

"Plus, she's got practically everyone in the building eating out of her hand." Rei added.

Saya nodded grimly. "So... What are we going to do about it?"

Isou chuckled, "That's the million dollar question, isn't it?"

"What?"

"It's an American idiom. Don't mind me," He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Whatever," Saya huffed. "We have more important things to deal with than _semantics_. For example, can we still trust Shibata and her groupies even though they feed little old ladies to the zombies?"

They looked to Takashi, who shrugged.

It was Saeko who answered the question. "I believe so." Saya cocked an eyebrow. "I spoke to the woman early this morning. She holds some rather... _traditional_ values. Anybody who _lives_ in this building is under her protection. And I believe that she will do everything in her power to keep her people safe. However, until one sets foot inside the office building they aren't her concern. The same goes for people who are cast out or leave of their own volition."

"So by 'traditional' you really mean 'archaic'? Those type of beliefs would fit better in the Warring States Period ."

"That's one way of looking at it, Takagi-san. However, your father pursued a very similar strategy did he not? Takagi-sama simply had the resources to take care of the old and infirmed who were unable to provide for themselves. Shibata, on the other hand," Saeko gestured at the rundown state of the building, "does not."

Saya muttered something uncouth under her breath, but otherwise remained silent.

"Does it even matter if we can 'trust' her?" Rei hissed sharply. "She _murdered _someone. She killed them just because they would be an _inconvenience _to take care of!"

Hirano nodded, "I'm not so much worried about what she'll do to us than what she'll ask _us_ to do."

"Exactly! We should get out of here while we have the chance, before they take our stuff out of the humvee and lock it up."

"Is it really that simple?" Rei glanced over at Yukiko in surprise. The young woman was looking out the window demurely, her legs folded to one side of her. "We have safety here. We have a warm place to lie down in the evening and the assurance that we will be safe in our sleep. For the first time in weeks we can go to sleep and know that our loved ones won't die while our eyes are closed."

"What?" Saya said, "So it's okay if they kill off a few old ladies, as long as _you're_ safe? Is that what you're saying?"

"As long as _Shin_ is safe." Yukiko replied, "For the safety of my little brother, I would do many terrible things with my own two hands."

"_None _of us are without fault, Saya," Takashi cut in. "And she's right, I've killed to keep you all safe. And I would do it again." He let out a breath, "But the difference is that Shibata is killing innocents. She's executing people who have done no harm to anyone else. I can't just look the other way when it's like that."

There was a poignant pause.

"Once, when I was little," Yukiko began softly, "I saw a little blue bird land in my neighborhood park. It was so pretty that I wanted to catch it and take it home with me. But before I could do anything more than look, a snake shot out of the grass and devoured the little bird whole. I was so angry that I was going to go over and kill the snake, but my mother stopped me."  
>She looked up at Saya, and there was steel in her gaze. "Do you know what she said to me? She said, 'Rain will make the flowers grow'." Yukiko shook her head angrily, "Rain <em>will<em> make the flowers grow. And I'll except the rain, no matter how heavy it gets, as long as Shin can live in safety."

"Letting others suffer for your own happiness? That's the moral of the story?! Bad things _have _to happen my ass!"

Yukiko glared back defiantly. "What would you give to see _your_ family safe again?"

Saya flinched back as if struck. She growled, and drew back her arm to slap the other girl.

Takashi caught her wrist. "Enough, both of you." The tension in the air calmed. "Either way we can't escape for the time being. For now, we'll wait. Let's get some sleep."

Silence fell over the room like a veil and Takashi's family settled down to sleep. There was tension in the air, but that was nothing new. It was just another night in the darkness.

Saeko took first watch, kneeling silently in the corner of the room, her sword across her lap while she sat upon her heels. In the shadows of the night, one might have mistaken her for a statue. Thus was the way of the samurai: inner peace, control.

In her heart of hearts, Saeko believed that Shibata had made the right choice. Saving the old and weak will only drain her resources. It was better to pick and choose, to gather as many as possible, but only those with value. Anyone who could carry a weapon, any woman who could still bear children, all of these and more. Saeko understood the older woman's thoughts on the matter. However, Saeko knew that her place was at Takashi's side. Should he choose to leave, she would follow.

She could only try to convince him to remain.

The next morning dawned slowly, the pale sunlight falling weakly upon the city. Silence filled the air, as it always did. The noises of life that once pervaded the streets and buildings had long disappeared, and in the silence, animated corpses walked the streets hunting for warm bodies.

Takashi lay awake but unmoving and stared at the ceiling. It was early and he had stayed up late into the night, but he was wide awake, unwilling or unable to go back to sleep, but would let the rest of his family rest for a while longer. Just because he was used to surviving with four hours of sleep didn't mean the rest of them had to be.

He was tired, true. But it was not his body or mind that was weary. Rather, he was tired of making choices.

How long ago had Saya 'elected' him leader? Less than a week? He'd lost count of the exact number of days because that event felt like a lifetime ago.

Days felt like years when it was a challenging just to survive from hour to hour.

To be completely clear, Takashi was sorely tempted to stay at the Shibata's apartment complex just so he could offload the burden of leadership onto another. But at the same time, he couldn't just leave his responsibilities in someone else's hands. He had to know that his family would be safe if he made that choice, but if he could do a better job of keeping them safe, then he'd be forced leave Shibata's group. He wouldn't place his family into hands less capable than his own.

Takashi sighed and stood, setting aside his heavy thoughts for another time. He stretched his shoulders and popped his neck before quietly leaving the room, making sure to close the heavy door quietly behind him, and nodded briefly to the guard in the hall outside.

Takashi didn't really have a set destination. He wandered around the edges of the floor and looked out the industrial size windows. At dawn, the city outside looked almost peaceful, as if the real people would wake in a few hours and begin yet another day in an endless progression of days, as if the world hadn't already ended.

Some time later, Takashi found himself on the roof the building. The air was cold enough for him to see his breath, but he pulled his jacket tighter around his shoulders and stuck it out. Over the breeze he didn't hear when the door to the roof opened a second time.

"Komuro-san, Ohiyo-gozaimasu."

Takashi glanced over his shoulder in surprise. "Ah, Shibata-san, good morning. I'm not intruding into a personal spot am I?"

Shibata shook her head, "Of course not, the roof is open to anyone who can bear the early morning chill. Though I am surprised to find you up here, Takashi-san, most of mine spend the morning hours asleep."

Takashi shrugged, "Wanted to clear my head."

"Indeed." Shibata moved next to him by the edge of the rooftop and they stood silently for a while, overlooking the city.

A fine mist had risen off the Onbetsu river that the first rays of dawn had yet to burn away, and for a short while the city appeared to be painted gold. Beneath the soft sunlight's ethereal glow, the city almost looked alive again, like a phoenix rising from its ashes.

Takashi glanced over at Shibata after a few minutes of silence. Part of him wanted to ask her why she'd leave an old woman to die, but that would tip his hand. He sighed and looked back over the city. Sometimes you have to play your cards close to your chest.

"Something on your mind Takashi?" Shibata asked.

Takashi snorted, "Always." Shibata nodded in understanding.

"There are no 'days off' in this world," She murmured. "A leader always has to be thinking, always has to be vigilant. It wears upon you doesn't it?"

"Sometimes I don't even want to get up in the morning."

She sent him a wry smile and after a few moments of silence she said: "Did you know, Komuro-san, that most of the groups who've joined my community never really had any 'leaders'? They were just herds of people wandering from one place to the next, like cows ever seeking a greener pasture. It was rather disheartening, actually, to see how few of us really has what it takes to _lead._"

Takashi just shrugged, wondering what brought that sudden tidbit out. "It's always easier to follow. That's the only reason why leaders are important in the first place."

"So it doesn't surprise you that, other than myself, you are the first person I've come across who could really be called a _leader_? As the rest... well, others may lead, but no one else has had that inherent spark of charisma that makes you want to follow."

"Takagi-sama was a man like that." Takashi replied, "So was his wife. Compared to those two, I'm nothing special."

Shibata chuckled, "Believe what you wish Komuro-san. But surely there must be a reason why Takagi-sama's own daughter chose to follow you in his place." Takashi fell silent. After a few moments of without speaking Shibata stretched her arms up above her head.

"Well," She said, "I enjoyed our chat, Komuro-san, but I must return to my offices presently." Takashi held the door open for her as she left.

Alone on the roof, Takashi turned back towards the city. It still was a beautiful sight, as the morning mist evaporated and left the city clear to see.

A few moments later the door opened again.

"Saeko?"

"Shh," She whispered back, "The others are still asleep, but I saw that you were missing and I wanted to be with you for a while. The last few days have been far too busy for my tastes."

"Un." Takashi's agreement was rewarded with a brief kiss and a warm embrace. He wrapped his arm around the woman's slender shoulders and held her flush to his chest. He let out a slow breath, "I'm sorry Saeko."

"No need to apologize, love," Saeko smirked at Takashi's blush. "You bear too many burdens already. Just relax for now. It's enough."

Takashi chuckled, "Thank you... _love_." The word was heavy on his tongue, but Saeko smiled contentedly when she heard him say it. They stayed like that for a moment longer before separating. They re-entered the building quietly and made their way back to the others.

Saeko caught his hand right before they got to the room. "Would it be so terrible to let someone else bear the burden of responsibility for once?" She gave his hand a warm squeeze. Then she was into the room before Takashi could respond and the door thudded shut a moment later.

_Well..._ He thought to himself _I guess I know what side she's on._ Takashi opened the door and moved into the room himself.

The others were just waking up, Alice rubbing the sleep from her eyes and Rei fixing her hair. Takashi pulled Khota to his feet. Once everyone was up and moving (and the two little kids were out of the room for a moment) Takashi turned to face everyone else.

"Right, today we have one goal: Find out what's going on in this place." He didn't need to say anything else, they all knew how important this was. They had to know the full extent of Shibata's actions. Was the death of the old woman a rare occurrence, or did Shibata kill people she deemed unfit to survive on a regular basis?

It was still early, though by now it was clearly 'morning' instead of 'dawn', and they had to wait a while before someone came around with a list of 'chores'. Saya had filled Takashi in on that practice yesterday evening. Some tasks had to be completed before a certain time, usually _noon_ or _dusk _which were more or less approximated, and others just had to be finished before the start of the next day.

Scavenging only took place every few days, so for today the boys were relegated to being maids, just like the girls.

One thing that Saya had picked up on was that the chores were rather light. She estimated that there were about fifty people living in the office building, give or take about ten, and the daily things that needed doing were dealt with quickly and efficiently. What impressed Saya even more was that everyone seemed more than willing to do their part. If nothing else, Shibata was a capable organizer.

Hirano and Rika, after proving themselves to be excellent marksmen (they each were given one bullet to headshot a target at 750 meters), were assigned to morning sentry duty on the roof that evening. They even got their rifles back, though it was a bit disconcerting to watch Khota practically rubbing his cheek against his ARC. They weren't alone, of course, and the other men on the roof top let slip some interesting things. Most importantly:

"Heard anything knew about that gang from last week? A friend of mine said he ran into a few of them on a salvage run."

"Yeah, they've been getting closer. Doesn't matter though, well pop their heads off before they can do anything serious... Oi! There's one now. Hey newcomers! Get over here!"

Khota and Rika moved quickly across the rooftop, "What've you got for us boys?"

One of them had a pair of binoculars pressed to his eyes. "Look there, at the alley between the hotel and the restaurant. Block three. There are two kids, dressed in some stupid looking leather. You see them?"

"Un." By now, both the snipers had their weapons braced against the rooftop. Finding the targets was child's play. Especially when they were carrying bright red gas cans. One of the gangsters was dousing the wooden planks of the restaurant with gasoline.

"Off 'em." The man said, "They're part of some arson gang that's been trying to set fire to this place for weeks now. If we don't kill them they'll just come back from another direction and do it all over again."

Rika nodded, "I'll take the one who's pouring. On three. One, two-" The sharp retort of gunfire shattered the stillness of the evening. Half a mile away, two headless corpses collapsed to the ground. The gas cans clattered to the pavement.

"Nice shooting, newcomers." The man impressed, but doing his best to hide it. "Let's do a quick sweep of the area; Shibata's worried that these assholes might end up setting fire to the whole city. We'll send out some people to pick of the gasoline later."

* * *

><p>That night the group gathered back in their 'room' and laid out the few blankets Shibata's quartermaster had given them, and a few moments later Alice skipped proudly through the door with Khota by her side. "Onii-san, Onii-san! Look what I made at school today!" She held up a sheet a computer paper with a crayon drawing of the whole family, even Zeke, standing in front of a green blob that Takashi could only assume was the humvee.<p>

School, daycare and even _classes_ for the children. Something else Takashi couldn't give Alice while on the move.

He smiled, "It's beautiful Alice." She surprised him with how good the proportions were, for a child that is. It even looked like she had blended two different colors of crayons together to get the exact shade of Saeko's hair. "Looks like you're going to be an artist when you grow up, huh kid?"

Alice shook her head, "Iie! I'm gonna be just like you Onii-san!"

Takashi could only chuckle sadly. "Hopefully you won't have to be..." He murmured. Alice blinked in a rare moment of confusion before Takashi lightly pushed her towards Shizuka to get her hair brushed. Soon enough, the exhaustion of the day took over and the little girl collapsed against the buxom nurse's side.

After Shizuka put Alice and Shin the rest of the group quieted. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Takashi spoke. "If anyone has anything important that they learned today, just say it. No interruptions, let's get the big picture before we start arguing again."

Saya fixed her glasses and huffed, "She organized, I'll give her that much. Whoever she has running this place knows what they're doing. Even my dad would be impressed with her setup."

Rei nodded, "I noticed that as well. It's part of the reason why everyone likes her so much."

"Not everyone," Yukiko said. "There is a small group of people who are especially wary of Shibata-san. Even to the point where they refuse to talk about her at all, or just make general statements about her ability to lead."

Rei and Khota exchanged glances. "That's because she's had other people killed in the past." Khota murmured. "The two other sentries on the roof talked about it."

Rika smirked "And Shibata isn't the only warlord in the prefecture either. There's some gang of drugged up kids running around in the area as well. According to our watch commander, they're goal is to light the rest of the city on fire."

Saya frowned. "Dumbasses."

"Couldn't agree with you more."

Takashi sighed "Shibata is just a mixed bag. For every bad thing we hear about her, we hear something good as well. Or worse, a reason why the 'bad thing' " He made quotes in the air "Is completely necessary."

Rei shook her head adamantly, "It's not that complicated! That woman kills innocent people, there's nothing else that needs to be said."

Rika chuckled, "Nothing in life is ever that simple kid. As a soldier you get over the idea of 'black and white' real quick. Or else you get court marshaled."

"Rei," Takashi said. "We've all done terrible things in order to survive. Hell, you wanted to abandon Shido at the school on the first fucking day. We need to stop judging by the standards we used to know, the measuring stick of a dead world won't help us here."

"Been saving that one for just the right moment, Takashi?"

He sighed, "Yes Saya, I want to sound cool _that _badly."

The room lapsed into silence again, as nobody could think of any more points to make. Takashi could also see that nobody's opinion had really changed. Whatever they believed before, and he was pretty sure he had the rest of his group pinned down, they still believed it. And they were still divided right down the middle.

For his own part, Takashi just wanted to know what the extent of Shibata's crimes were. How far did the rabbit hole go? Only then could he make his own choice.

"So," He said, "I guess we aren't coming to a decision tonight."

Yukiko raised her hand slowly. "Actually... even if the rest of you decide to leave. Shin and I are going to stay."

_Shibata's right; being a leader is hard. So hard that most people can't even do it. So hard that most people are willing to give up their own freedom just so someone else will make decisions for them. And in the absence of a leader, they'll just wander from place to place, aimless, directionless. Barely more alive than the walking corpses they have to run from._

_Cattle, she called them. She called everyone else in this building cattle. I should have been angry. I should have been pissed off that she'd say such a thing about the people within her care._

_I should have been, but I wasn't. Because in the end, I almost agree with her._

**High School of the DEAD  
>DEAD man Wonderland.<strong>

* * *

><p>A few ending thoughts. One, sorry this chapter took so long to get out. The only explanation I can offer is that school came and smacked me in the face with a nail studded two by four. I almost finished it before the beginning of the semester too, but nope, school said nope.<p>

On that note, I'm not sure how long it will take me to get out the next chapter, but we're approaching the end of this story. One more chapter, if I can make it long enough, two or three at most. It kinda snuck up on me, to tell the truth, but I have the rest of the story planned out. And don't worry, things will come to a head between Takashi's group and Shibata soon enough. Though perhaps not in the way you might expect.


	12. DEAD end

**DEAD end**

_It's been said that we will never know the day when the End of the World comes. That moment will be a surprise to us all, and when the apocalypse starts knocking on our door, only our own strength can save us. We will be completely unprepared._

_I have to say that I never believed it. I mean, you'd think that you'd be able to see the end of everything coming from a long way off. But then it happened, the world ended in a heartbeat.  
>And it happened without warning.<em>

* * *

><p>"So, do we have a plan, fearless leader?"<p>

Takashi glanced away from the window and shrugged at Saya. "We stay under the radar and play by the rules until we decide." Turning back to the view he added. "But after two days? I'm pretty sure we won't be going anywhere."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Why's that? Do you _agree_ with Shibata now?"

Another shrug, "It's all about momentum, right? The longer we stay in one place, the harder it is to move on."

Saya chuckled wryly. "If you keep having these deep insights into the human mind I won't be able to call you 'baka' behind your back anymore."

He smirked, "But you think I'm right."

"Hmph." Saya nodded imperiously, "Unfortunately, we're all to used to creature comforts to actually _enjoy_ the idea of living like ignorant savages. Too bad being civilized doesn't count for much anymore."

"And even you feel that way?"

"I'd miss the showers."

Takashi laughed quietly for a moment. "Come on, let's wake everyone up. We have work to do today."

"Oh?"

"Start gathering information for an escape play, in case I'm wrong about the whole 'momentum' thing. That's what I need you to do for me, Saya."

"What?" She groused. "Nothing more specific than that? Do you want me to find a cure for cancer while I'm at it?"

"A way to fabricate ammunition would be more useful." Takashi said, "Besides, I trust you. More restrictions would just get in your way, right 'super genius?"

After Saya left Takashi looked back out of the window for a moment more. Over the city, the sunlight began to cut the chill of the predawn air, hinting at a warm dry day to come. Takashi quickly got the others up and moving, and he left their 'quarters' to head for the main common room near the center of the building.

During the last scavenge run, one bright survivor had snagged a free standing whiteboard and some markers. The group had used it to carry back an additional brace of supplies, and now there was a dedicated 'task board' in the office building's central hub which all of its residents could look at to find out what chores they had been assigned for that day.

All things told, Takashi found it exceptionally organized. He and Khota had been assigned to scavenger duty that morning, and after informing the group of the other assorted chores they were to perform, Takashi picked up his trusty baseball bat and told Khota to meet him in the lobby. He was on his way there when a familiar voice drew his attention.

"Takashi, can we talk for a sec?"

Takashi's head snapped up to see Rei standing down the hall, an unreadable look on her face.

"Please?"

"...Sure"

Rei nodded. Then she nodded again, "Right." She said, "can you come with me for a second please?" Takashi could only follow as she made her way back down the hall at a brisk pace. Both teens missed Saeko, standing around a nearby corner, who watched Rei's actions with lidded eyes.

"You're not planning on doing anything drastic I hope."

"Hmm?" Saeko turned to Saya, who walked up beside her. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Takagi-san." Saya only snorted in reply.

Meanwhile, Rei and Takashi finally came to a stop a ways down the hall. There were well of the beaten path, the narrow corridor forming a secluded alcove where it met a locked office.

It fit the mood that they should be separate, Rei decided, this was a personal matter after all. She knew that something needed to be said here, and that she needed to be the one to start, but all the same she couldn't find the words.

"Rei?" Takashi asked. He sounded so concerned, his voice warm and soft, dredging up fuzzy memories of past dates and shared sunlight. For a moment Rei wanted nothing so much as to through herself into his arms.

Why had she not seen how much he meant to her, how important his presence was in her own life? She'd been the one to make the mistake when she gave up on him, and now she had to face the consequences.

"I understand," She said. "That I'm the one to let you go in the first place." Best to start simple.

"...Rei, what are you talking about?"

She spun to face Takashi, "Oh no. Don't you dare pull that one on me! This- ...this is hard enough without you lying to spare my feelings."

"Rei-"

"I've seen the way you look at her Takashi." Rei murmured, "And how the two of you will just happen to be missing at the same time. I have eyes Takashi!  
>-And I get it! I get it... I'm the one who let <em>you <em>go, and Saeko was just there; so I know I don't have any right to be angry, and I know it's just like with me and H-Hisashi, and-"

"Rei." Takashi wrapped his arms firmly wrapped around her smaller frame. And it was only then that she realized the she was crying. "I understand. I'm sorry."

Rei sighed, "No, no." She pushed him away gently, "That's not- (she let out a choked laugh)- that's not where I meant to go with that... I just- I just wanted to tell you that _I_ understand. And I want you to be happy, even if it's with Saeko."

"Rei"

"Don't, Takashi." She said, holding up a hand. "Please, don't. Just let me act like a grown up for once in my life." Rei gave him a teary smile. Takashi chuckled wryly in return.

"There" Rei said. "I did it. I'm gonna go back to the room now. See you later, fearless leader."

She began to walk down the hall, but Takashi called her back.

"I'll always be there for you Rei." He said. "And I'm sorry, I'm sorry I wasn't who you needed me to be."

She threw one last smile over her shoulder, "You've always been who we needed you to be." and then she was gone.

Takashi let out a heavy sigh, took a moment to collect himself, and made his way down to the lobby as he had originally intended. Hirano and Isou were already waiting in the foyer with backpacks along with a few other melee weapons ranging from steel bats to two by fours.

Takashi nodded to the others "Is it just the three of us."

"Yep," Isou replied, "The others already left."

The hours slipped by as they cautiously roamed around the city, turning over houses and convenience stores for canned goods and anything else that might be useful. Once completed, the marked the lintel of each house and store with an 'x', a sign for future scavenging parties that the area had already been searched.

It was on their return the apartment complex that Khota spotted something.

"Over there," He said, drawing Takashi's attention to a house a ways down the street. "I think there's someone over there." he murmured quietly.

Takashi settled the bat into a ready grip and said, "Let's go check it out then."

The three slowly made their way over to the house, which sat on the corner of a street, making sure to stay on the sidewalk to avoid being spotted. Takashi heard quiet laughter, not loud enough to draw the attention of _them_ in any case, and he leaned slowly around the corner of the house.

In the street stood two men, decked out in ripped leather jackets and chains and the like. Very stereotypical gangster. But what drew Takashi's attention the most was how they were dousing the wooden buildings on the street with gasoline from four large gas containers. The two unkempt men poured gas over the house and on its first floor as well, from what Takashi could see, before moving on to the next house and repeating the process.

Takashi pulled his head back, motioning Khota and Isou to come closer. "Two men with gasoline." He told them, "It looks like they're trying to start a fire."

Khota flinched, "Are they wearing orange bandanas?" He asked. Takashi nodded. "Shit. They're part of the arsonist gang that's practically taken over this part of the city. Sagi, another sniper, told me how they like luring mobs of _them_ into a building before lighting it on fire."

"The supermarket in Shinagawa last night!" Isou hissed. "I saw it burn down."

Khota nodded, "Usually they give Shibata's 'domain' a wide berth. I don't like how they're so close to us."

"We'll, we're gonna have to do something about that then." Takashi said. "Do you have a gun on you, Hirano?"

The chubby marksman nodded, "Silence pistol, I'll spare you the make and model."

Takashi chuckled wryly, "That works out perfectly then. The two are distracted. Pop one in the head and the other one in the leg. Shibata'll want to know what they're up to."

"The head, huh." Khota stared down at his pistol for a moment. "Done."

He rose smoothly and slipped to the corner, Takashi and Isou behind him, ready to charge around the corner and grab the second man. Hirano stepped out of cover and aimed and shot twice. "Go." He said. With that Takashi and Isou sprinted, reaching the second arsonist right as he started to scream in pain.

A swift blow from Takashi's bat ended that sentiment.

* * *

><p>A tentative knock came to her door, "Shibata-sama, Scavenger group two has returned. They have important news."<p>

Shibata set aside her pen. "I see," Pushing the papers on the desk to the side she said, "Send them in."

"At once, Shibata-sama" Her guard replied. She had never told them to address her as 'sama' but she couldn't deny she enjoyed the flavor of such an honorific. Of course, it only made Takashi more interesting as he continued to call her "Shibata-san" despite the glares from her loyal followers.

As her doorman had said, Takashi and two of his group entered promptly, dragging a fourth, unknown man behind them. The last had his arms roughly bound behind his back and a ratty pillowcase over his head serving as a makeshift hood.

"Oh my," She said, amused. "Am I the godfather now?"

Takashi rolled his eyes as he pushed the bound man onto his knees and took of the pillow case. "This guy and his pal were pouring gasoline on houses half a block from here." He said without preamble.

"Hmh? Well then. I suppose I will have to do something about him." Shibata smirked, then she noticed the gag in the man's mouth. "Has he been difficult, Takashi-kun?"

"Crass more like."

"You haven't gotten any other information out of him?" She asked.

"Nothing but a few inventive new swear words."

Shibata chuckled wryly. "Very well. I'll deal with him, meanwhile, please tell Takehito to place more lookouts on the roof, and to send up Sergeant Imahara, if you would." Takashi nodded, and the three left the office.

Takashi deposited his loot from the scavenge run and made his way back down to the common room. Hirano was called to the roof, along with a few other sharp eyed individuals who had gained the position of sentry. There was a tense atmosphere within the building now, though. The others had seen him bring the man up to Shibata's office, and now people were whispering to each other, no doubt theorizing about what had happened.

Instead of staying dispel, or affirm, the rumors, Takashi sought out the rest of his group.

He found them in the unofficial 'rec room', where Shibata's group stored games and such that they'd found throughout the office building and surrounding areas. For the most part the room was pretty empty, and in function it served as a second common room more than anything else.

"You know," Isou commented, "If this were America they'd at least have a foosball table in here."

Takashi smiled thinly. He could tell that Isou was still on edge from their meeting with the arsonists, thought there was little time for that now. Shibata's reaction, her slight air of surprise, had confirmed Takashi's suspicions. Something dangerous was going to happen.

He called brought everyone together quickly, even Rika was in the room, talking with Shizuka no doubt, and he told them what had happened on the scavenge run. "Be ready for anything. I feel like the storm is coming." He said.

"That's really vague, you know," Saya replied. "You can't give us anything more specific than that? I mean, if we were a group of arsonists, how would we try and 'end' Shibata?"

"Only one way of course," Saeko said. "If you are correct, Takashi, then we should expect a fire." The whole group grimaced.

"You'd think there would only be so many ways you could burn one place to the ground" Saya remarked.

"They were dousing the houses in gasoline, one by one." Takashi said. "It's not a stretch of the imagination at all to imagine that they would do that to a whole city block. And The three of us didn't stop to check how many buildings they'd already done." He shook his head. "That's why I said be ready."

"Gasoline in its liquid form doesn't actually burn." Saya said suddenly, drawing everyone's eyes to her. "It's the vapor as the gasoline evaporates that will catch on fire, and it's not like the vapor will just hang around forever. Even though it's been colder and humid as always recently, the gasoline will eventually all evaporate and disperse into the atmosphere. Whatever it is they're planning, they'd have to do it soon."

"Way to kill the mood, Takagi," Rei murmured.

"Isn't there some American idiom for that, 'I speak the truth and nothing but the truth'?"

"Ah," Isou said, "Something like that."

Takashi looked out the window, where the sun was slowly sinking towards the horizon.

Some time later, Rika joined Hirano on the rooftop, toting her well used rifle over her shoulder. At the leader's instructions, she set up her tripod her tripod on the east side of the building. It was closing in on dusk now, but there was still more than enough light to see by even if the shadows were equally prevalent. She shared a brief greeting with Khota before focusing on her task.

It was Khota who caught the first glimpse of them. "Boss," He called over his shoulder, "People from the arsonist group to the southwest." The older man was next to Khota in an instant, looking through is binoculars.

"Two of them huh? What do they got there?"

"It looks like a road flare..." Hirano replied. "I think they're gonna- shit-!"

"Pop 'em kid! Quickly before the wackjobs light another house on fire."

Khota steadied his aim. Two shots, "Got them." He said.

The overseer nodded. "I doubt we're done just yet. You!" He gestured to a random lookout, "go inform Shibata about what just happened. The rest of you keep your eyes peeled for any more hostiles." The man must have been an ex SDF member or something, to talk like he did. "You have orders to fire on sight once you confirm the orange bandana which serves as their sign."

The lookouts waited in tense silence, scanning the streets for movement even as the one house about a block away went up in flames. One of the sentries asked "Shouldn't we do something about the fire?"

The chief shook his head. "Left be it should burn out by itself." He replied. "We just need to make sure that the freaks don't start any more fires to go along with it.

"Do they do this sort of thing often?" Rika asked.

"Often enough," Another sentry said, "But never so close our office building. Usually they're far enough away that we can't get a bead on them." It was then that another house, to the North West this time, began to smoke. "Shit, there are more of them. That building's even closer than the last one!"

"Catch them before the light the damn things!" The chief bellowed "Do you want to see another inferno?!"

Rika managed to spot another group of targets. Her gun fired once into the coming night. "Got another one, over to the east." She reported calmly "His buddy ducked behind cover, I can't get an angle on him, and there are more farther out." Shifting focus she fired twice more.

Another sentry spoke "There's three more to the south as well!" He fired three rounds, "Fuck! Missed. Glasses, get over here!" Khota managed to peg one, but the others slipped out of sight.

"There are more of them out there." Rika noted, "At least five to each side of us." Some of the lookouts on the North wall began firing, ending with a triumphant cry of "got him!"

"Stay focused! They're making a major move on us!" The chief bellowed "I need to report the situation to Shibata-sama. The rest of you, try and keep them off of our asses for as long as you can! Once it gets full dark we won't be able to see shit." And then he slipped off the rooftop.

The sentries did their best, but slowly more and more buildings began to catch fire as the arsonists went about their work. In the shadows it became harder and harder to catch a glimpse of their foes, and no matter how good they were the lookouts just _couldn't _peg all of them.

Nevertheless, the arsonists' master plan became apparent soon enough.

"Two of you from each side, get over to the East wall!" Rika commanded

"What? We can't just let the rest of them get to the building."

"Don't you see what they're doing?" She replied, even as she took out another enemy. "They're trying to close us into a ring of fire! They don't care about the building! If we don't keep an avenue of escape open we'll all be burned alive."

The other lookouts followed her orders rather quickly after that.

Inside, Shibata was being briefed on the situation. The grim expression on her face said it all. "Organize all of our supplies, make sure everyone is up and moving." They'd need to load rations, distribute weapons, and countless other tasks besides if they were to evacuate the high-rise. And she would have to organize it all. "Prepare for immediate evacuation, take only the necessities, food, water, ammunition. Tell everyone to bring spare clothes if they can, but we have to do this quickly."

Shibata sighed as her aid left the office. "I can only hope that we've been given enough time."

* * *

><p>Takashi and the others were waiting when the call for evacuation came out. The 'supply lockers' were thrown open and the various weapons Shibata's followers had collected during their stay were handed out. Saeko was lucky enough to get her sword, and Takashi his shotgun (he informed the guards that he knew how to use the weapon, which wasn't exactly a lie), but the rest of the group had to make do with lead pipes, bats, and the odd two by four.<p>

"This way please!" One of the guards shouted over the din "For an orderly line while we distribute supplies! Make your way down to the second floor after you have been provisioned! Be prepared to immediately depart!"

Takashi noted how everyone was moving with a grim determination, no one panicking, no one making a scene about leaving this or that behind, or having to carry too much weight. They'd all been through the panic before, now only one concern remained, staying alive.

Quickly, the second floor began to fill with people, some grasping weapons, others huddled nervously together, but almost all with some sort of back pack or satchel filled with supplies. Takashi even noticed someone carrying the propane stove that they'd grabbed from Isou's house.

There were guards in the room now too, as everyone waited quietly to be told what to do next. It was odd, to see no one trying to take control of the situation, all the same people had noticed the slowly growing ring of fire that was beginning to encircle the highrise. Everyone was feeling tense, but all the same the waited for the final verdict from Shibata.

Shibata had just left the roof after a quick meeting with Rika who told her the situation. _"We managed to keep the east side of the building relatively clear, but, well, you can see the rest."_

_"Is there any chance that the fire will burn itself out?"_ She had asked.

Rika had shook her head at that. _"They've thrown too much gasoline onto the fire, and it looks like almost every house in the area has been doused in gas within the past day. I still don't know how no one noticed..."_

_"Time for that later_" Then Shibata had made her way down to the second floor, with all of the lookouts behind her. Takehito informed her en route the most of the supplies had been distributed, but that the fire was growing larger and more dangerous by the minute. No mistaking it, they had to leave now.

She stopped in front of the crowd and addressed them.

"We have no time here for long winded speeches. We are besieged, by an insane enemy bending the very elements against us. We must abandon our stronghold or risk being consumed in the blaze. We break east, towards the edge of the city. Fighters, cover our advance from the front and sides. The rest of you, do not linger behind! Your salvation is in your own hands tonight." Shibata met each of her children's eyes. "We will smash through our enemies and move onward to a brighter future!"

With that one of her lieutenants took over. "Organize yourselves! Move down to the first floor! We leave in three minutes!"

* * *

><p>They ran into the maw of hell. Dancing walls of flame flanked them from either side, growing closer with each passing minute. At the Vanguard, Takashi personally shot more than a half a dozen of the crazies trying to light more houses on fire, Khota was probably in the double digits. Acrid smoke was thick in the air making Takashi eyes water. There were shouts and screams and gunshots arcing through the night. It was like a nightmare, blurred and horrid and never ending. But then they were on the outskirts of the city, and Takashi could barely remember what had transpired before.<p>

They were weary and soot stained and battle scarred, but somehow, they had made it through the flames.

A voice, indistinct though loud enough to be heard, rose above the crowd, "Gather into your groups! Watch men form a perimeter! Report to Shibata who is missing!" Simple enough, funny how they said missing though, instead of dead... He wandered through the crowd lethargically, bumping into random strangers, trying to pick a face out of the masses.

"Takashi. Takashi!" His head snapped up. Over to the side he saw the rest of his group, Rei waving, Saeko smiling wearily, Saya frowning at his lateness. As he made it over to them, Isou, Yukiko, and Shun staggered up as well. They had grim expressions on their faces, and Isou was leaning on Yukiko for support.

Takashi frowned. "What happened?"

Isou gave him a wry grin. "Oh, you know." He was the only one trying -and failing- to be light hearted, Yuki and Shun looked like the grave. When no one else spoke, Isou sighed and removed his arm from Yuiki's grip. With a dull, world weary smile, he gestured to the ruined bloody mess of fabric at his shoulder. "Bite." He said.

The mood took a sudden swan dive, as everyone looked at Isou sadly. Yukiko is the one who elaborates, "He... he stopped one of _them_ from getting to me." She whispered, "That bite was supposed to be for me."

"Oy, oy! Don't go talking like that." Isou chided. "I knew what I was doing. Besides, didn't I promise to make sure you and your brother got to safety when we first ran into each other?" He looks like a man who's made his peace with death, Takashi was impressed. "Only... Takashi, can you do me a favor?"

Takashi nodded stonily. "Come with me." He said.

That evening he reports to Shibata that his group had only one casualty with a dead look in his eyes. Shibata nods, before pulling him into a gentle, motherly hug. She knows how it feels to fail those who rely on you, and she tells Takashi in a hollow voice that, counting Isou, she has lost sixteen of her children that night. They both have a moment when they find someone who can understand them, if only from a distance. But they both know that they have to keep moving.

They set up camp for the night, distributing food water and blankets as needed. Everyone was too exhausted to complain and just sat down wherever they could find space. Here and there small campfires sprang up, inevitably attracting a larger group to form around them. Look outs were posted, shifts were assigned, and the night passed quietly.

Takashi and the rest of his family rested around one such fire. The rest were sleeping, Rei and Shizuka sprawled out next to each other, Alice across Khota's stomach, Saeko's head pillowed on Takashi's own lap. But he himself couldn't fall asleep. He had too many thoughts hanging around in his head to pack them all up and drift away. Instead, he was staring into the fire before him... just staring into the flames.

_The flames taught me something, or perhaps watching them simple reminded me of what I already knew. It was a sight to behold, that miniscule fire warming dozens of bodies. It was nothing more than an ember of the blaze, but in a tiny voice, it told that-_

"-One day, every fire will go out." Takashi said, looking over the valley below. "The import thing is that we use our lives to light and warm the world for as long as we can. Understand?"

Two tawny eyes, mirror images of his own looked up at him seriously from beneath purple bangs, which bounced once when the figure nodded. "Hai, Otousama."

Takashi laughed, his age lined face splitting into a cheerful grin as he rested a hand on top of the young girls head. "I knew you would understand Yoake." He replied. "Now, let's go see what your Kachan is up to." Yoake smiled slightly as took her father's hand in hers. The two made their way into the valley below, and entered the village that Takashi had helped build with his own two hands.

It had been six years since their flight from the city. Since that day, due to Takashi and Shibata's combined efforts, not a single person had died.

**DEAD end**

Well, here it is, the final chapter, much delayed, of my story. This is the first story I have completed and let me tell you, it's been a ride. I admire those people who put out stories two or three or four times longer than mine and finish faster than I did, but, somehow, I made it to the finish line as well. Just so the record is clear, I had this ending more or less planned out till chapter three, though I shuffled some things around in the interim, which is part of the reason why it took so long to write. _I_ knew how the story ended, so I really had no need to find out by writing it, but I got off my lazy ass and did it any way. Yay, me.

There was supposed to be more to the story than this, I had this plan to show each member of Takashi's group slowly descending into insanity as they try and cope with their situation. You can see hints of this if you look, Takashi's bouts of intense rage for example, or Khota clicking his magazine in and out of his rifle, but I never had time to develop those points like I really wanted. So I guess I'm saying that this story could have been more that what it was, but in the end, I still think it turned out better than I ever imagined. It's not a block buster, even on fanfiction where popularity can only be measured by reviews and favorites, but it is undeniably mine. And I want to thank each and every one of you for reading.

If you care to, leave a review, I would especially like to hear any critiques that you might have. What did I do wrong? (other than take a year and a day to post each chapter) and what did I do right as well, just as, you know an ego booster. I would appreciate it.

One more thing before I go, I'll be posting the first chapter of a new HOTD story today. Part of the reason why I updated so slowly is because I was working on chapters of that instead of this one. It's and HOTDxAlien/Predator cross over, the third one in that category I think. So you can find it manually or through my profile if you want to take a look. It's called 'Being Human' and I already have the first five chapters, so, for a few months at least, updates will come relatively quickly. After that, well, you've seen how long it took me to wrap this story up.

That's it, we're done here. I did it (still not sure how I feel about this).

Peace,  
>Argentorum<p> 


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